Solid wall insulation and the Green Deal
Solid wall insulation is going to be part of the Green Deal and looks to become a bigger part of the overall scheme in the future. According to one of the leading manufacturer of solid wall materials Knauf Insulation 45% of your homes energy is lost through your walls. 45% is a big number, imagine that you can save 45% on your energy bills, suddenly insulation becomes very attractive. And here lies one of the big challenges of the Green Deal, can the Government sell insulation? Can they make it more desirable than solar panels?
Solid Wall insulation is needed for most houses build pre 1920’s as the practice of building cavity walls only started then. Even though Britain suffered bomb damage during the 2nd world war we still have some of the oldest housing stock in Europe, so there are many houses still in need of updating. Solid wall insulation has come a long way in the past 30 years and the materials used have very high energy saving efficiencies.
According to the Energy Saving Trusts figures you can expect to pay £9,400 to £13,000 for external solid wall insulation and expect to save up to £475 in heating costs per year. In terms of the Green Deal this will be a tight fit to make the Golden Rule, as £475 x 25years = £11875. It fits within the Golden rule, we haven’t added interest rates as these are unknown at this time but they are expected to be low. The other point to remember is that the average cost of insulation is expected to fall as up take increases, as happened within the solar industry. The final caveat is that energy costs could rise over the coming 25years and thus speed up the Return on Investment.
The final take away from solid wall insulation should be that it’s an expensive investment but the returns and savings are also highly attractive. No one in 2012 should be living in draughty un-insulated buildings but the fact of the matter is that millions of us do. The Green Deal is going to be a massive opportunity to improve the lives of millions of people and solid walls might get over looked for other measures that grab the media attention, but now you know that walls are worth investing in. Don’t ignore the wall.
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