Homeowners ignoring insulation see energy costs soar

Almost three quarters of UK households (70%) are seeing their energy spend go through the roof as they miss out on a valuable opportunity to top up their loft and cavity wall insulation.

Despite the UK’s recent spate of harsh winters, 45% of households have never considered topping up their loft insulation, even though it could reduce average energy bills by up to £175 per year and can be completed in less than a day, according to research from Knauf Insulation, one of the world’s leading providers of insulation products. Cavity wall insulation can save a further £135, totalling average savings of approximately £310.

As the country has been experiencing unseasonably warm weather lately, it may be easy to forget that energy bills have hit a high of £1,250 per annum, with 5.5m households spending 10% or more of their income on power. Despite this, up to 10m families nationwide have yet to reap the benefits of properly insulating their home. If all UK households installed loft insulation alone, this would equate to nearly £500m of savings a year on energy bills in the UK.

Steven Heath, External Affairs Director of Knauf Insulation, said: ‘This research highlights both a lack of understanding but also a real apathy towards the financial benefits that households could be reaping from a very simple installation. However, people want to make a positive impact on the environment as well as save money, now they just need to be shown how.

‘Millions of hard-working households across the UK are set to lose a valuable subsidy available for loft and cavity insulation from October this year if the Government introduces its proposed Green Deal initiative. We have faith in the Green Deal and all the potential benefits it could bring, but the Government needs to continue its dialogue with those affected if millions of homeowners are to truly benefit.’

Half of those asked in the research said they were put off topping up because of the perception it is an unpleasant job (23%) or too much hassle (23%) – even though the process can take as little as a day and two in five households said they didn’t know how much insulation is currently in their loft. One in five (21%) said that cost was an issue and felt the job was too expensive, despite the existing opportunity for Government subsidy while over a third (36%) use their loft space as their main storage and don’t know where they would put their belongings.

For 83% of respondents, the main reasons for making eco improvements to the home were to reduce spend on energy bills. Over a third (36%) had installed cavity wall insulation and 4% had installed exterior solid wall insulation.