Grants For Insulation -Are They Still Free?
Grants For Insulation -Are They Still Free?
Yes They Are!
Is Free Insulation Available To all Homes In The UK?
Not all homes are suitable for insulation and will be subject to a free survey. For a household to qualify for free loft / home insulation :
- Your loft must have none or minimal insulation
- Your Home must have all insulation that is required ( whole house approach)
- Your heating must be upgraded if needed
- Your Home Has An Epc Rating Of D – E -F -G
- You must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit or on a low income
- The property must be owned or be rented from a private landlord.
The grant does not need to be paid back.
5 Reasons Why you should Insulate Your Home Today
1 A quarter of all heat generated is lost through your roof. That is a lot of cash wasted!
2. You will save over £300 a year by insulating your walls and loft space. That money will be better spent on a new holiday !
3. Your home will be a lot of cosier and comfortable in the cold and dark winter nights.
4. Your well insulated home will be more attractive to homebuyers when you do come to sell.
5. A lot of homes can still their their loft done for free!
Grants For Insulation – Top 5 Free Insulation Grants
- Loft Insulation
- Wall Cavity Insulation
- Internal & External Wall Insulation
- Room in Roof Insulation
- Flat Roof Insulation
Free Insulation Grant 2023
You may have heard about the free insulation grants over the years and wondered if it was genuine or not.
The good news is that the Free Loft & Wall Insulation Scheme is 100% real and still available for 2022 .
I personally have been responsible for thousands of loft installs over the last 9 years and is currently how I earn a living.
There Is No Catch- You will qualify or you wont.
Why A Government Grant For Free Insulation?
Free Government Grants For Home Insulation are available in England, Scotland and Wales and are funded via the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) to improve the efficiency of homes.
These Grants have helped many people to lower their heating bills and are funded by a levy to every fuel bill in the uk .
This is in part to achieve the government’s goal of being net carbon neutral by 2050 but as a main aim of tackling fuel poverty across the UK.
Which Benefits Qualify For A Grant
- Child Benefit
- Tax Credits – Child & Working
- Employment & Support Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- Job Seekers Allowance
- Pension Credit – Guarantee & Saving
- Universal Credit
Who Is Eligible For Free Insulation?
To Be Eligible for Free Insulation you must :
Your home must have no or minimal insulation and have all insulation that is required ( whole house approach)
✅ Have Off Gas Heating -Oil-LPG – Electric
✅ Have A Home EPC Of E – F- G
✅ Have Your Existing Heating Upgraded
✅ Be A Home Owner / Private Tenant In Receipt Of A Benefit
What Is Insulation?
Insulation is simply a material that is fitted to walls or loft etc that acts as a barrier to heat escaping to outside.
The material can be foam or Rockwool or poly euro thane and each will have its own U value which is merely a measurement of how long it takes for a specified unit of heat to pass through it.
With ever rising heating bills, insulation for your home is an absolute must, to keep your heat in your home for as long as possible.
How Does Insulation Work:
The sole purpose of the insulation in your home is to slow down (as much as possible) the transfer of the heat from inside your home to outside.
Materials with a low U Value are the best types of insulation .i.e foam based materials are very low U Values and are great insulators. Insulation works by reducing:
- Conduction, by having very little mass.
- Convection, by trapping air molecules and restricting its movement.
- Radiation, by having just enough mass to slow the transfer of heat by radiation
Insulation Facts Up To 2022
70 % of homes (14.5 million properties) now have cavity wall insulation.
66% of homes ( 16.8 million properties ) now have loft insulation
9 % of homes ( 794,000 properties ) now have solid wall insulation
What Are The Benefits Of Insulation For Your Home?
Insulation creates a barrier for your expensive heat to have to pass which will keep your heat in the house for longer instead of it escaping through the roof.
The Energy Saving Trust calculate that the average saving per year from installing loft insulation is approximately £240.
For Solid Wall you will save up to £500 per year Your house will feel warmer during cold weather and improve the energy efficiency rating of your home.
You will also reduce your carbon footprint by around 990kg of CO2 per year compared to an uninsulated loft.
Typical Heat Loss From Your Home
Heat loss will depend on your house type but as a rough guide you can expect to lose
- 25% of its heat through the roof
- 33% through the walls
- 15% through the floors
- 15% through draughts
- 20% through windows.
How much does it cost to insulate your House?
Does The Insulation Grant Have To Be Paid Back.
This is a grant so it does not have to be repaid and you will not be expected to have to pay the insulation installer.
The installer will claim the grant on your behalf and ensure your 25 year warranty is registered.
Are There Grants For Insulation In Scotland?
Yes. Scotland does qualify under the Eco Scheme for Free Insulation as well as Wales too.
Scottish energy Grants seem to have all of Scotland sewn up and we recommend you contact them if you live in Scotland as they their contractors will be a lot quicker than ours.
Do Pensioners Qualify For Free Home Insulation?
Can You Get Free Insulation if not on benefits?
Some councils do a scheme where you dont need to be on benefits to receive free insulation. Ask your local council if they operate a LA FLEX Scheme.
Free Loft Insulation
Grant Value – Over £600 supplied & fitted
Bill Savings – Up to £150 per year in reduced bills.
Time To Fit – Usually takes 2 – 3 hours to fit
Warranty – Comes with a 25 yr warranty
Do You Qualify – You need to receive a qualifying benefit and your existing insulation needs to be below 100 mm to qualify
Free Roof Room Insulation
If you have an attic room (accessed by a solid staircase) you could be eligible for significant improvements to bring the attic space up to current building regulations which can then be used as a habitable room.
Insulated plasterboard ifs fitted to the walls and ceiling and then the whole room is replastered. This is worth up to £10000 for some properties so do check if you can apply.
Value – £3000 – £10000 supplied & fitted
Bill Savings Up to £500 per year in reduced bills.
Time To Fit – Usually takes 2 – 3 days to fit depending on property size.
Warranty – Comes with a 25 yr warranty
Do You Qualify – You need to receive a qualifying benefit and your walls need to be solid with no existing insulation fitted.
Free Cavity Wall Insulation
Your walls are injected with a loose fill of beads to creat a barrier to heat loss. Very effective way to insulate your walls.
Bill Savings Up to £200 per year in reduced bills.
Time To Fit – Usually takes 3 -5 hours to fit depending on property size.
Warranty – Comes with a 25 yr CIGA warranty
Do You Qualify – You need to receive a qualifying benefit and your walls need to have a cavity with no existing insulation fitted.
Insulation For Homes with Suspended Timber Floors
If your home has suspended timber floors on the ground floor theres a good chance that they’re pretty draughty and uninsulated.
You can add rolls of fibreglass wool between the floor joists held in place with chicken wire or use Kingspan boards cut to size and held up with wooden struts across the joists.
Free Internal / External Wall Insulation
Value – £3000 – £10000 supplied & fitted
Bill Savings Up to £500 per year in reduced bills.
Time To Fit – Usually takes 2 – 3 days to fit depending on property size.
Warranty – Comes with a 25 yr warranty
Do You Qualify – You need to receive a qualifying benefit and your walls need to be solid with no existing insulation fitted.
Are There Grants For Foam Insulation?
There are at present no grants for foam insulation.
We strongly recommend you do not have foam insulation in your home at any cost. The link below will show you that foam has no use in a domestic home and you should use traditional tried and tested insulation instead.
Grants For Free Underfloor Insulation
If your home has suspended timber floors on the ground floor theres a good chance that they’re pretty draughty and uninsulated. You can add rolls of fibreglass wool between the floor joists held in place with chicken wire or use Kingspan boards cut to size and held up with wooden struts across the joist
A small amount of heat is lost whatever floor type you have, be it concrete or suspended wooden floor.
Insulating your floors should save you around £50 per year in heat savings.
Whilst it is a very small saving, it is very much worthwhile. This involves insulating the space below the flooring and will involve taking up the floor for access. You don’t need to insulate the floors of upstairs rooms in your house if they’re above heated spaces, such as the living room.
Rugs and carpets on the floor will also help your feet feel warmer, which might mean you don’t feel the need to put the heating on as much.
Saves you £60 per year Average cost £15 -£20 per roll – Diy cost around £100 per room.
What Is Spray Foam Insulation
Spray foam insulation is a liquid foam which is sprayed into position and sets into an insulating layer. It can be used to insulate your roof, loft, walls, floors and does what it says on the tin and forms an effective barrier to heat loss. It has been around for more than 30 years and is an effective insulator and also stops air leakage. It is the most expensive form of insulation however but is quickly and easily installed.
Is spray foam insulation safe?
Spray foam insulation is formed on-site which does result in potentially harmful fumes being released into your home at time of installation. The spray area should not be re-entered for at least 24 hours after installation. Once cured, there are no further hazards. There are two types. Open-cell foam – this type is very light, easy to tear and allows water vapour to pass through into its structure so requires a vapour barrier. Closed-cell foam – this is much denser and more expensive than open-cell insulation and acts as a vapour barrier providing a higher level of thermal efficiency.
Sprayed Foam Insulation- Is this a good thing for your loft?
There has been a lot of concern regarding having spray foam installed on your roof rafters and you should seriously give the matter a lot of thought before agreeing to have this. My personal opinion after reading all the facts etc is to invest in some Rockwool insulation fitted on the loft floor which will be a much better option for your hard earned cash. It will be about £4000 cheaper too!
The Cons Of Spray Foam
- Many mortgage companies refuse to lend on properties where sprayed foam has been installed.
This will affect the sale of the house when it is put onto the market undoubtedly affecting the property value.
- Sprayed foam can cause interstitial condensation on the cold side of the insulation resulting in decay in the tiling, battens or the rafters themselves.
This will not be visible from an internal inspection.
- Removal of the foam is difficult, very labour intensive and the battens and rafters often have to be replaced as well.
- Where foam is applied to the roof slopes a warm roof is created which means any insulation at ceiling height must be removed.
- Ventilation is a must. Any water vapour finding its way into the roof void needs to be well ventilated to avoid condensation
Spray Foam Problems
Spray foam insulation sometimes goes wrong, and it can lead to problems that might need massive overhauls. Common problems with spray foam insulation include:
- Superheating in a closed area
- Roof damage
- Hidden termite damage
- Permanent foul smells
- Mold and mildew
- Health complications
Fortunately, these are avoidable problems if your contractor has a keen eye for clean results.
Spray Foam Insulation -Any Grants For 2022?
There has been a lot of bad press recently about the relatively new kid on the block ( I only have heard of it in the last few years or so) of the use spray foam insulation to insulate your roof rafters.
This is currently being sold via cold calling and direct mailing to lots of potential clients who are having to part with up to £5000 for the privilege of having this installed in their loft.
It is a most expensive way to insulate your loft in my opinion with no or minimal benefit to the end user.
SEE HERE FOR FOAM INSULATION WARNING
Conclusion
If you are thinking about having this fitted to your home, please take into account the above content.
For your loft you should only have it sprayed onto your loft floor to create a barrier to your heat entering the loft. Alternatively, have Rockwool insulation rolled out instead.
Do not have your rafters sprayed as all the heat will be wasted once in the loft unless you wish to keep the squirrels and mice nice and warm in the loft.
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