Insulating your loft is a simple, fast and relatively inexpensive way of reducing heating bills and CO2 emissions, without it as much as 15% of your home’s heat is lost through it’s roof.
Even if you have some form of insulation at present it could probably benefit from being topped up, loft insulation works like a blanket on your house, retaining the heat inside, the thicker the blanket, the greater the benefit.
The recommended thickness is 270mm, most older homes typically have around 50-100mm, with the addition of a second layer significant benefits can still be achieved. In fact most households will see a payback wihtin 2-6 years depending on the level of insulation already in the loft.
Types of Insulation
Traditional insulation has been through the use of mineral fibre or fiberglass rolls laid between the joists, newer methods of insulation consist of blowing granular insulation material such as vermiculite and mineral fibre into the loft space which can be a quicker method, rolls of insulation can be installed by most DIYers but blown insulation will require the use of special equipment and is best left to a specialist contractor.
Another type of insulation is roof boards, these are applied to the internal pitch of the roof and act as an additonal insulator between the loft and the outside world.
