subject: Keep Out The Winter Chills With A Thermally Efficient Home [print this page] Autumn is firmly upon us and now, more than ever, people will be starting to worry about the impact of the massive rise in energy prices over the last year. For almost all homeowners, there is no option but to use gas or electric heating as the days grow colder and there are few alternative ways in which they could heat their house. While some very modern and expensive homes may use ground source heating or other renewable forms, these are simply not available to the vast majority of the population. Once alternative and cheaper forms of heating are exhausted, there is only one real option left for homeowners to take; increasing the homes thermal efficiency. This option is open to almost everyone and there are many ways in which at least some efficiency increases can be achieved.
Cavity Wall Insulation
This type of insulation is typically very effective as it covers the entire house and creates a much more thermally efficient home. By filling the cavity between the inner and outer wall, a much thicker thermal barrier is created which makes it much harder for the heat to pass through the walls. There are many government grants that can drastically reduce the cost of any installation making this an attractive offer for most people.
Double Glazing
While cavity wall insulation deals with the majority of the externally facing structure of the house, there is one key area which it cannot have an effect; windows. As windows can take up quite a sizable surface area of your home it is important to make sure that they are not forgotten about. Single glazed or very old double glazed windows have a serious heat loss problem and can effectively become radiators to the outside world. If you are interested in saving money on heating then it is important to consider double glazing in Cheltenham, double glazing in Gloucester and double glazing in Swindon.
Loft Insulation
After the walls and windows, there is only one more key area to focus on in the quest to save energy; the roof. As heat rises, this is the one location that the majority of heat will escape in most homes. Many older properties will not have any insulation on the underside of the roof and may have only minimal insulation in the top ceiling. Although the large expanse of air in a loft has the ability to create a thermal barrier, installing purposely designed insulating materials will have a much larger impact and allow for an all-encompassing thermal barrier to the outside world.
