Cavity wall insulation?

r2015

I live in a 3 bed semi built in the early 90's and I use about 12,000 kWh of gas per year for heating and have the opportunity to get cavity wall insulation installed for £90 from the Mark Group.


I don't get any benefits even though I am a pensioner, too much savings left over from a pension lump sum when I retired.


Is it worth it and how much would I save in gas?

Bubblebath

r2015 wrote: »

I live in a 3 bed semi built in the early 90's and I use about 12,000 kWh of gas per year for heating and have the opportunity to get cavity wall insulation installed for £90 from the Mark Group.


I don't get any benefits even though I am a pensioner, too much savings left over from a pension lump sum when I retired.


Is it worth it and how much would I save in gas?

You sure the house doesn't have cavity wall insulation already? I would have thought any property built as recently as the 1990's would have such insulation.

Anyway, a quick google says the energysavingtrust suggests that typical savings of £145 a year can be had on adding cavity wall insulation to a semi.

But then again, it says it'll typically cost about £475, so I don't know what they are proposing for just £90.

r2015

You sure the house doesn't have cavity wall insulation already?

Yes.

A quick google says the energysavingtrust suggests that typical savings of £145 a year can be had on adding cavity wall insulation to a semi.

That is what they say but I am more interested in what people who have had it done actually saved.


12,000kWh of gas will cost me £500 when my tariff goes up on 30th June, so if I save £145 a year, that is almost a 28% saving reducing my gas consumption by about 3400 kWh a year.


If that saving is achievable, I will save £55 in my first year.
However I don't believe I will actually achieve these savings, however I would like to be proved wrong.

Smiley_Dan

How do you know? Have you had a borescope survey done? I once asked Mark to do one on my house... they misidentified one wall as having no CWI, when two other surveyors found some looking through the same hole (and allowed me to inspect too... I also saw the rockwool).

In theory you should be able to get it done for free under CERO in a month or two, or free under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. See the other threads.

r2015

How do you know? Have you had a borescope survey done?

Not very believing people on here.

I ask about actual savings yet all I get are questions on whether or not my walls are already insulated.

THEY ARE NOT

ic

Calm down.

British Gas are offering to do insulation for free: http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy-saving/home-insulation/free-insulation.html

They actually wrote to me recently and said they were also offering the incentive of £50 cashback / giftcard just for making an appointment. I can't see any mention of this on their site, but might be worth asking.

Smiley_Dan

Ok, I believe you now.

But my point stands: you should be able to get it for free.

The *actual* savings depend on the U values you end up with and the energy you use going forwards.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

r2015 wrote: »

Not very believing people on here.

I ask about actual savings yet all I get are questions on whether or not my walls are already insulated.

THEY ARE NOT

Haud yer wheesht!

This is why people were querying your statement...

Most houses built from the 1990s onwards were built with insulation in the walls...

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Insulation/Wall-insulation

...and I have noticed the "most" disclaimer.

r2015

British Gas are offering to do insulation for free:

Not for all.

Straight from their website after I fill in the information

Unfortunately, you're not eligible for free energy saving home improvements at this time.

sheffield_lad

r2015 wrote: »

Not for all.

Straight from their website after I fill in the information

Unfortunately, you're not eligible for free energy saving home improvements at this time.

I think that is due to the date of your house build. Houses built post 1990 did not have to have cavity filled to hit the regs and often house builders use a thermal block instead of breeze block to hit the regulations relating to U values.


I have no idea how much I saved on my bill but the house felt much warmer (late 1950's), once installed.


Maybe it's worth putting in an older date for your house and see if you can get them out?


GL

st999

I think that is due to the date of your house build. Houses built post 1990 did not have to have cavity filled to hit the regs and often house builders use a thermal block instead of breeze block to hit the regulations relating to U values.

If your house is anything like mine it was built to minimum specs,

My house was built in 1991 with 50mm of loose fill loft insulation.

No cavity wall insulation as it has dab and dot insulated plasterboard stuck on the breeze block, which was considered satisfactory in these times.

I was using 22,000kWh of gas a year for heating and hot water that was on from 7 till 10 then 4 till 10:30.

After a few years when energy saving started to come into vogue I increased the loft insulation to 300mm and put an additional jacket round the hot water tank.

I also replaced my single glazed wooden front door with a uPVC door.

Maximum gas I have used in a year since then has been 19,500kWh and that was with the heating on 24 hours in the coldest of the winter.

Normally my heating is on from when I get up to when I go to my bed.

This is in Scotland where it gets a bit colder than in England, hence the heating bills are higher than in England.

There was a survey carried out once as to why Scottish heating bills were higher than English heating bills on average, they spent £0000s on the survey.

Their conclusion? The average temperature in Scotland is colder than England.