Cavity wall insulation

rommers

Hi all, looking for some advice. I am going through the free cavity wall and loft insulation through EDF. Just had a survey done by the insulation company and they said I have no wall insulation!

They have offered me the basic white bead insulation or the Thermabead Diamond insulation for £99. I have no idea about insulation so was wondering which option was the best one to go for. Will the basic be sufficient or is it better to go for the £99 option? For info, my house is a 3 bedroomed semi detached.

cheers.

McKneff

News to me, I'm with EDF, can you tell me about this freebie please.

Our insulation has been in around 35 years, does it disintegrate over time.

And of course I'll be interested in any answers to your query

Annie

rommers

Hi, its on their website follow the link:

http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/our-services/home-insulation.shtml

Definitely worth doing as it's free! :beer:

In answer to your question, unfortunately I don't know!

McKneff

Thanks, I'll wait for some more answers then and have a look at the site.

Annie

McKneff

Bump..........................

rommers

No one can help us out with some advice over this?

torbrex

I dont know if it helps you with your choice but I just had a survey done for free cavity wall insulation here in Fife (Energy Saving Trust) and when the guy came he said I qualified but they could not do it as I already had insulation in the cavity (white bead stuff).
I asked if it was good enough or should it be upgraded as it has been in there over 20 years and he said that it would last longer than me and it would not be worth the expense to remove it and put in the better quality stuff, it would take too long to make enough of a saving.

rommers

torbrex wrote: »

I dont know if it helps you with your choice but I just had a survey done for free cavity wall insulation here in Fife (Energy Saving Trust) and when the guy came he said I qualified but they could not do it as I already had insulation in the cavity (white bead stuff).
I asked if it was good enough or should it be upgraded as it has been in there over 20 years and he said that it would last longer than me and it would not be worth the expense to remove it and put in the better quality stuff, it would take too long to make enough of a saving.

thanks for this, makes me think the free stuff may well do

glubalub

If this is the material quoted on this BBA certificate

http://www.bbacerts.co.uk/PDF/4300ps1i1_web.pdf

then I would pay the extra £90 and go for the Diamond. Once you have injected cavity wall insulation into a wall there is no way to get it out again without demolishing the wall. It's there for the life of the building so it's worth putting in the best you can. With a difference of almost 0.01 in the thermal conductivity you will save around 3.5watts of heat for every m2 of external wall at a temperature difference of 20 degrees.

One thing to bear in mind is that this saving depends on the installation being done correctly. The certificate shows the drilling pattern and it would be worth checking the spacing of the drill holes after the installation is complete.

Cavity wall insulation does break down over time and when it does there is really nothing much that can be done. There doesn't seem to be any info available on the relative longevity of the two products.

Cavity wall insulation is not entirely without risk as filling the cavity can allow rain to penetrate to the inside of the wall on very exposed sites. The surveyor should have taken this into account when surveying your property. It's also worth having a good look around your external walls to check that there aren't any defects that need fixing and check inside for any damp patches. If there are any problems get these fixed before getting insulation injected.

It is possible to get quotes from other insulation companies who may be able to access subsidies from other electricity suppliers. Talk to the surveyors who may be able to help compare competitors products.

rommers

thanks for the info, I will read up on that. You make a good point about injecting the better quality insulation in the first place.