Poorly insulated homes costing money and the environment

According to building firm Rockwool householders need to invest in loft, cavity wall and external insulation to not only save money, but also make a significant contribution to the Government’s target for reducing green-house emissions.

The firm’s research, published this week, claims more than one in four (28%) of UK homes do not have loft insulation, with 58% having no cavity wall insulation and 58% also having unlagged pipes.

The findings follow reports from the Department of Energy and Climate Change which state that up to 4.6m households in England could be in fuel poverty in 2009 due to energy price rises outpacing income growth and energy efficiency improvements.

Rockwool managing director Hans Schreuder, said: “It is staggering so much CO2 is being pumped into the atmosphere, with so much energy lost and money wasted by poorly insulated homes, particularly given how relatively simple and cheap it is to rectify this problem.

“There is a lot of help for home owners available now meaning many low income householders won’t have to pay for home insulation or can take advantage of significant discounts.

“We urge homeowners to investigate the help that is available to them and to look seriously at the savings they can make by properly insulating their homes.

“If all of the UK’s 25M homes were properly insulated the nation would not only save £2.9 billion a year on energy costs, we would also make a considerable cut in carbon emissions , scoring an important victory in the battle to prevent global warming.”

Luke Walsh