Shall I wait for government's ECO+ scheme for house insulation?

jentt

asking for your advice, please. 
I am keen to get cavity wall insulation for my house (which is so difficult to heat up, and it's painful to pay the crazy bills when my house's temperature is always lower than 15 degrees). I am not eligible for the current government ECO scheme but will be eligible for the new ECO+ scheme to be launched in April 2023 (Council Tax D, EPC D). 

I have got some quotes from insulation companies. However, with the new ECO+ scheme coming so soon, I would like to save money from the wall insulation where possible, so I can do other projects (e.g. loft insulation) with my saving. I am unsure how much each household would be given under the ECO+ scheme, and whether it is worth waiting for it. The lead time might be terribly long. One insulation company also told me their material and labour prices would increase in April, so I may need to pay more - although I am not sure whether it's true. 

Our loft insulation also needs top-up (not thick enough) or even replacement (some damage due to leaks). ECO+ scheme will only allow for one insulation project, so if it's possible, I may pay for the cavity wall insulation now and wait for the ECO+ scheme for my loft insulation - yet, I wonder whether I should hold wall insulation as it's more expensive. 

Any advice or suggestions you could provide would be much appreciated! 

ashe

My experience of firms doing these schemes is they're all cowboys that disappear after it's been done leaving you with no warranty worth actually claiming on. It'll be more, but get a survey done by a firm with some history and insurance backed gurantees - when it goes wrong it isn't chewo

have you sorted your loft insulation and tackled drafts around skirting, doors and windows/ loft hatch etc?

sorry just saw you mentioned loft - watch a few YouTube vids; fairly straight forward to DIY, we got quoted £500 and did it for £220

jentt

ashe said:

My experience of firms doing these schemes is they're all cowboys that disappear after it's been done leaving you with no warranty worth actually claiming on. It'll be more, but get a survey done by a firm with some history and insurance backed gurantees - when it goes wrong it isn't chewo

have you sorted your loft insulation and tackled drafts around skirting, doors and windows/ loft hatch etc?

sorry just saw you mentioned loft - watch a few YouTube vids; fairly straight forward to DIY, we got quoted £500 and did it for £220

Thank you. I’ll consider doing the loft insulation by ourselves. Great info to have. 

It’s very true that many insulation companies are not really reliable nor consistent. The surveyors sent by different companies did different things (or nothing) during the visit and provided very different judgments on some basics (thickness of our existing loft insulation). Some even sid not do an in person survey (quote online). Some of them said they would have 25 years guarantee (although the online reviews seem finding difficult to argue against a guarantee after a few years) while some said they would come back to fix any problems but can’t provide how long the guarantee is in written.  I contacted those registered with CIGA but So difficult to find a reliable one. 

Also not sure whether I should wait to apply for government support in insulation. 

Thanks for your reply 

FreeBear

jentt said: I am unsure how much each household would be given under the ECO+ scheme, and whether it is worth waiting for it. The lead time might be terribly long. One insulation company also told me their material and labour prices would increase in April, so I may need to pay more - although I am not sure whether it's true.

Details are still a little sketchy as to how the scheme will be run  A very good chance that it will turn in to another farce just like the last Green Homes scheme did. When the ECO+ scheme does become live, you will find all the "approved" contractors will have their snouts in the trough and charging well over the odds for the work. It is little more than a "greasing of palms" by the government so that they can claim to be doing something about improving UK housing stock without actually delivering any worthwhile benefits.

I had cavity wall insulation done here quite a few years back. It has made no noticeable difference in terms of saving energy or helping to keep the place warmer. Plugging all the cold draughts (low cost and easy to do) helped. New DG doors & windows (expensive) has proved to be well worth doing. Insulating the walls internally on a room by room basis is making a quantifiable difference - Doing the work myself to keep costs down as part of a general refurbishment & redecoration.

jentt

FreeBear said:

jentt said: I am unsure how much each household would be given under the ECO+ scheme, and whether it is worth waiting for it. The lead time might be terribly long. One insulation company also told me their material and labour prices would increase in April, so I may need to pay more - although I am not sure whether it's true.

Details are still a little sketchy as to how the scheme will be run  A very good chance that it will turn in to another farce just like the last Green Homes scheme did. When the ECO+ scheme does become live, you will find all the "approved" contractors will have their snouts in the trough and charging well over the odds for the work. It is little more than a "greasing of palms" by the government so that they can claim to be doing something about improving UK housing stock without actually delivering any worthwhile benefits.

I had cavity wall insulation done here quite a few years back. It has made no noticeable difference in terms of saving energy or helping to keep the place warmer. Plugging all the cold draughts (low cost and easy to do) helped. New DG doors & windows (expensive) has proved to be well worth doing. Insulating the walls internally on a room by room basis is making a quantifiable difference - Doing the work myself to keep costs down as part of a general refurbishment & redecoration.

Thank you so much for your advice. 

I have bought some draught excluder (foam tapes) for windows and doors, and watched some YouTube videos, however I couldn’t find specific ‘large’ gaps or clear draught when testing with candles around windows or doors. Would you recommend any instruction articles or videos please? 

Replacing doors or windows are unaffordable for us at this moment but I’ll put that in the longer term list. Thank you. 

FreeBear

jentt said: I couldn’t find specific ‘large’ gaps or clear draught when testing with candles around windows or doors.

Incense sticks might be a better tool for finding draughts. Pick a day when it is very windy outside, light up a stick and go hunting. If you don't find any draughts, at least the house will smell nice

Another option is to get a thermographic survey done - This should highlight where heat loss is occurring and allow you to target your efforts more effectively. Some councils have a loan scheme for thermographic cameras, as does Octopus Energy.

ashe

Don't just look around windows either- check around skirting where there are gaps, check your letterbox, check your loft hatch. 

FreeBear said:

jentt said: I couldn’t find specific ‘large’ gaps or clear draught when testing with candles around windows or doors.

Incense sticks might be a better tool for finding draughts. Pick a day when it is very windy outside, light up a stick and go hunting. If you don't find any draughts, at least the house will smell nice

Another option is to get a thermographic survey done - This should highlight where heat loss is occurring and allow you to target your efforts more effectively. Some councils have a loan scheme for thermographic cameras, as does Octopus Energy.

I believe octopus have paused that scheme for now, it was a massive waiting list anyways