Insulation grants

mppaze

Buying our first house in a few months, and I am trying to figure out what, if any, grant funding will be available for energy efficiency improvements

The house currently has a back boiler, which we would like to change to a combi.

The house is a pre-1920s mid terrace, single skin brick, which we would like to put an external wall insulation and render.

There is some loft insulation, but we would want to put in newer / thicker insulation over the joists, and (not spray foam) insulation between the rafters.

There is a single glazed window that would ideally be double.

From what I can gather, there are ECO4 grants that I may not be eligible for as our household income is over £31,000 and we aren't in receipt of any benefits. Do I need to wait until I've moved in and check with my energy supplier and council? Am I missing something or do my wife and I now sit in the "squeezed middle"?

TIA

amanda1024

Have you looked at https://www.gov.uk/apply-great-british-insulation-scheme

There are also grants for heat pumps, and some councils offer extra support. Some mortgage companies (eg Barclays) also offer grants for certain measures.

The government support keeps chopping and changing, but currently most of the focus is on low income households and heat pumps

FreeBear

mppaze said: The house currently has a back boiler, which we would like to change to a combi.

The house is a pre-1920s mid terrace, single skin brick, which we would like to put an external wall insulation and render.

You have a double thickness solid brick wall - About 230mm thick. A single skin would only be ~115mm thick.

With a solid brick wall, I usually recommend cork or woodfibre insulation with a lime render/plaster over the top. If there are no features worth saving, insulating on the inside is very effective and preserves the outside character of the building.

An old back boiler probably means very old pipework & radiators - Replumbing the system gives you the opportunity to use larger bore pipes where appropriate, and bigger radiators. In a well insulated & draught free home, there is no real need to hang radiators under the windows. Use the opportunity to site them somewhere else on an internal wall.

And do have a look at heat pumps. With the Boiler Upgrade grant from the government (currently £7500), the cost of installing a heat pump is pretty much the same as a gas boiler.