Home insulation doesn't need to be expensive, nor does it need to involve changing windows or carrying out large-scale projects. Saving money on your heating bills can be as simple as insulating your home with draught proofing. To help you out, we’ve gathered our favourite ways to improve energy efficiency at home, as well as tips on how to install insulation, so you can learn how to insulate your home easily and effectively.
Draught-proofing your home
There’s nothing better than escaping the cold outside and getting warm in front of the fire. But, this can be all be easily ruined by a cold draught sneaking in through a door, letterbox or window. So, what is draught proofing?
There are many products available to mitigate the risk of the chilly air invading your home, such as draught excluders.
Here are some ways you can insulate problem areas in your home:
External doors- Make sure your front door only has a 2mm or 3mm gap at the top and sides, and a 5mm gap at the bottom.
- For extra protection, use self-adhesive foam to seal around the edges and top of the door frame.
- Use a draft excluder to stop cold air slipping in through the bottom of external doors. These plastic or metal strips have a rubber seal or rows of nylon bristles that act as barriers against those icy draughts. The seal or bristles must overlap the door frame to be fully effective.
- You can buy draft excluders in wood or metal finishes to match your door.
- Is chilly air creeping through your letterbox? Get a letterbox draught excluder.
- Applying flexible sealant at the base of skirting boards on external walls can prevent heat from escaping and draughts from entering the home. Squeeze sealant between floorboards and the base of the skirting. Work along the board in a smooth, continuous motion.
- For gaps over 5mm, pin strips of quadrant-shaped moulding over them.
- Suspended wooden floors in older homes are trickier as they need air flowing underneath them to combat condensation and rot. With a little floor insulation, you can still make ground-floor rooms warmer and more energy-efficient. Simply fill any spaces between boards with a clear, flexible sealant or insert thin strips of wood into larger gaps.
Top tip: For more ways to improve your home's efficiency, take a look at our seven top tips for saving energy at home.
Insulating a new floor
If you’re laying new flooring, you can add floor insulation at the same time. Lift the floorboards and fit glass mineral wool insulation between the floor joists. You’ll recoup the cost of the home insulation in just a few years with your lower energy bills. Installing underlay will also help to insulate your home from the ground up.
If you're unsure how to install floor installation, the following steps are a good guide:
- Lift boards with a thin bladed cold chisel and club hammer. Lever them up, working along the board to prise away all the nail fixings.
- To stop insulation dropping through the joists, simply staple plastic garden netting between the joists at the bottom of each side. Or you can nail lengths of roofing batten along the sides of each joist.
- Lay your insulating material between the joists. You can use rolls of loft insulation or rigid pieces of wall insulation.
- Once the entire floor is covered, re-lay the floorboards. Replace damaged sections and nail firmly to stop any squeaking or movement.
- Don’t leave wide gaps between the boards.
- Use a nail punch to push the nails below the surface of your floorboards.
Window insulation
Double glazing isn’t cheap, but the effect is fantastic – you’ll halve heat loss through your windows instantly. This won't only reduce the energy consumption of your home, but can also make a big difference to your energy bills over the cooler months.
A shorter-term fix is secondary glazing fitted to the inside of window frames. These units come as kits.
You should also look to fill in gaps around the secondary glazing frame and your window frame with flexible sealant.
Top tip: Insulating your plumbing system can also help to reduce heat loss. If you have a hot water tank, ensure that it is covered with insulating foam and fit pipe insulation around any hot water pipes.
There are also plenty of stylish home insulation ideas...
While draught-proofing your home can improve insulation, there are some other things you can do to keep a cold house warm.
RugsA thick rug with a deep pile can be a great investment, as it can help to trap heat and keep you warm – whether you’re putting your feet on it or sitting on the rug.
CurtainsThick or blackout curtains retain heat and can be installed in front of windows and doors to help draught-proofing. Another benefit of investing in some thicker curtains is that they will help to make your home look more cosy – perfect for the colder months.
Don’t block your radiatorsHave a look at where your furniture is in relation to the radiators in your home – are any chairs or tables blocking the radiators? If so, think about how you can move your furniture around to avoid this. Blocking radiators restricts their ability to warm a room and wastes money.
Make use of floating shelves
While blocking radiators with furniture can prevent heat from circulating correctly, floating shelving can be beneficial as it can deflect the heat around a room. You should allow sufficient space between the shelves and radiator, as this can hinder a how well the radiator works.
Top tip: For more easy ways to keep your space warmer, take a look at our guide on how to make your home cosy.