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.
Skirting boards
- 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.
Floorboards
- 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.