Stating that it's a great time to insulate seems counterintuitive to cost saving in an energy and cost of living crisis. The initial outlay is significant. However, the benefits and overall savings far outweigh the initial process. Therefore, with the colder months setting in, keeping more heat contained inside your property is crucial.
What is insulation?
Building insulation is the process of applying materials to improve thermal performance. The installation of insulation can also offer secondary improvements in acoustic, fire, and impact resistance. At EWI Store, we offer three ranges of insulation boards. We also offer below DPC (damp proof course) insulation.
The most important part of any insulation is the thermal performance and u-values. Our handy little graphic illustrates the u-values of our insulation boards.
| Insulation Material | Thermal Conductivity |
| Rockwool | 0.036W/(m2K) |
| K5 Kingspan | 0.021W/(m2K) |
| Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) | 0.032W/(m2K) |
| Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) | 0.034W/(m2K) |
Thermal transmittance, also known as U-value, is the rate of transfer of heat through a structure (which can be a single material or a composite), divided by the difference in temperature across that structure. The units of measurement are W/m²K. The better-insulated a structure is, the lower the U-value will be. Therefore, to achieve the required level dictated by new build industry standards, you will need varying thicknesses. As seen in the table, Kingspan K5 is the best performing insulation board. It is also known as a space saving system due to its composition. Additionally, it has a greater resistance to mechanical impact, making it the ideal choice for tighter spaces. Rockwool offers acoustic insulation and complete non-combustibility, whereas EPS provides exceptional thermal performance at a great cost.
How much will it cost?
Firstly, you'll need to determine what materials you require. Our Materials Calculator is the best port of call for this! We also have a blog detailing how to calculate the cost of installation. A very rough figure when considering whether to insulate or not is around £7-15000. Naturally, this is dependent on the size of the flat and your choice of insulation. This figure may seem daunting, but read on and find out why it's a great time to insulate, and what help you can receive.
Unfortunately, the Green Homes Grant is no longer in place. However, the Government has several new initiatives in place to combat the energy and cost of living crisis. The Help To Heat scheme will look to target 130,000 low income homes and insulate them prior to this winter to alleviate the danger of fuel poverty.
So why insulate now?
The UK has the leakiest homes in Europe, with over 20% being built prior to 1920, which is the de-facto threshold for the move away from solid wall old builds. The energy price cap may be set at £2,500, but you can still end up paying more if you use more! With the predicted bills, external wall insulation can save you close to £1,000 on your bills. Read more about energy bill savings here! The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is also scheduled to assist in upgrading many social housing areas to an EPC rating of C.
Right now is a great time to insulate as the weather conditions are conducive to good drying times. Although the weather is getting more and more unpredictable, as is typical of British weather in the autumn, we are having a warmer start to the colder seasons than usual. Strike while the iron is hot! Better drying conditions will ensure that the work takes less time, saving you money on labour fees. The insulation can also start paying itself off immediately. This makes early to mid-autumn, especially with warmer weather, the ideal time to insulate. No need for the heating at night, and a whole winter of energy savings ahead. Insulated walls will also act as heat stores, and progressively release this heat at a much slower rate than walls that have not been insulated.
You may find that during this period of slightly lower temperatures, installers are more readily available to take on your project. Insulating whilst the sun shines can allow your home to store the heat within your walls. Consequently, you can turn your heating on much later, and make larger savings on your bills. Drier air is also great for installing insulation as more humid air can cause trapped moisture in the system layers.
Final thoughts
Furthermore, you can work throughout the winter with our Winter Adhesive and Render Accelerator, designed to withstand lower temperatures, and accelerate drying times respectively.
Ultimately, the best time to insulate is always as soon as possible. Our prices stay low all year around, and we have multiple discounts running throughout our site.