External wall insulation

skintsaver_2

Hi all,

We live in a mid terraced house with thick, stone/bricks walls, no cavity. 
It's cold as soon as we switch the heating off and our kitchen, which is in the single extension, is bitterly cold! I don't think it ever has insulation above the kitchen as there's no loft access in the extension.

Are there any grants or anything for external wall insulation at the moment please? I cant afford to pay for it myself unfortunately and with the cost of household bills rising I'm worried how we will afford to keep warm

Thank you 

BUFF

where you live can make a difference as different LAs may have different criteria.
start from https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency

skintsaver_2

Thank you. I have looked and I can't seem to find information regarding external wall insulation. It all seems to be cavity wall they offer and I don't have a cavity in my home

FreeBear

Most (all ?) of the grants on offer are aimed at those claiming benefits. Then there are schemes such as the Green Deal (now defunct) which offer loans to fund improvements such as internal/external wall insulation - In my opinion, these loans offer a very poor deal in terms of interest rates and repayment schedule. There are also a number of extra costs involved such as paying for an EPC and an "advisor" to recommend work. You will then be restricted to a small pool of contractors to do the work (at inflated prices).

If you have a steady income, it would be more cost effective to take out a loan from your bank and shop around to get the work done.

BUFF

skintsaver_2 said:

Thank you. I have looked and I can't seem to find information regarding external wall insulation. It all seems to be cavity wall they offer and I don't have a cavity in my home

Did you drill down & try putting in your post code at https://www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/pages/energy-company-obligation ?
It varies by council - where I live I can't apply for grants under my council's criteria for items (incl. external wall insulation) that I could in at least 2 neighbouring councils with different criteria.

I also live in a stone/brick mid-terrace & without grant support I have never managed to make external wall insulation work financially  - just too expensive for the expected savings to pay for the cost of installation over a reasonable time. Have you done all the lower hanging fruit of energy saving (loft insulation, DG windows, heating system +controls, draught proofing etc.?)

ian1246

Can you remortgage part of your equity to fund the project? Probably the cheapest option with mortgage rates still very low!

skintsaver_2

FreeBear said:

Most (all ?) of the grants on offer are aimed at those claiming benefits. Then there are schemes such as the Green Deal (now defunct) which offer loans to fund improvements such as internal/external wall insulation - In my opinion, these loans offer a very poor deal in terms of interest rates and repayment schedule. There are also a number of extra costs involved such as paying for an EPC and an "advisor" to recommend work. You will then be restricted to a small pool of contractors to do the work (at inflated prices).

If you have a steady income, it would be more cost effective to take out a loan from your bank and shop around to get the work done.

I do have a steady income but my wages are not good! After we pay bills we are left with £80 a week to buy food, clothes etc. 

skintsaver_2

BUFF said:

skintsaver_2 said:

Thank you. I have looked and I can't seem to find information regarding external wall insulation. It all seems to be cavity wall they offer and I don't have a cavity in my home

Did you drill down & try putting in your post code at https://www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/pages/energy-company-obligation ?
It varies by council - where I live I can't apply for grants under my council's criteria for items (incl. external wall insulation) that I could in at least 2 neighbouring councils with different criteria.

I also live in a stone/brick mid-terrace & without grant support I have never managed to make external wall insulation work financially  - just too expensive for the expected savings to pay for the cost of installation over a reasonable time. Have you done all the lower hanging fruit of energy saving (loft insulation, DG windows, heating system +controls, draught proofing etc.?)

My local council isn't offering anything  
We have all the mentioned measures in place but it doesn't help much. I really don't know what to do

skintsaver_2

ian1246 said:

Can you remortgage part of your equity to fund the project? Probably the cheapest option with mortgage rates still very low!

We could never afford the repayments. We don't have sky or anything like and have cut back to the bare  minimum as it is. Tax credits are also ending this year so we will be in a worse position financially 

FreeBear

skintsaver_2 said: I do have a steady income but my wages are not good! After we pay bills we are left with £80 a week to buy food, clothes etc. 

In a similar boat here. Not a lot of money left at the end of the month... Slowly insulating the walls internally, one room at a time, and doing most of the work myself. Keeps the costs down to a manageable level, but takes a lot longer. Still, the small amount done so far has shown a worthwhile improvement.