Floor Insulation Grants
Having your floors insulated will slow the movement of heat through the floor. Due to this effect the home will feel more comfortable and warmer in the winter, but then feel much cooler in the summer months.
Do I need floor insulation?
Insulating your floor means adding an insulating material beneath the floorboards. Doing this will reduce heat escaping through the floor and into the ground. Nearly 15% of heat is lost from a house via this route. Insulation also acts as an aid to prevent draughts coming up through the floorboards. You can increase the insulation properties of your house by insulating the gaps between the skirting boards and the floor which will also help in reducing draughts from the outside elements.
Floor insulation is generally carried out when putting a new floor in place but do not worry as most floors can be retrofitted with insulating materials. Carrying this out will make significant savings on your heating bills.
Why is floor insulation needed?
Insulating your ground floor is a really efficient way to keep your property warm. In most cases you only need to insulate the ground floor. If you are on an upper floor there isn’t any need to insulate your floor space. If, however, you have floors that are above unheated spaces such as garages then you could be losing a lot of heat through those floors. In this case it would be a great idea to insulate the floors to minimise the amount of heat loss.
Having your floors insulated will slow the movement of heat through the floor. Due to this effect the home will feel more comfortable and warmer in the winter, but then feel much cooler in the summer months. By installing floor insulation you can reduce your carbon footprint by about 240kg per year and almost 100kg if you fill the gaps between the floor and skirting boards. According to the Energy Saving Trust, installation floor insulation underneath a wooden surface saves about £60 per year, which would mean a payback of 1.8 years based on recouping material cost of approximately £100.
Can I qualify for a floor insulation grant?
Yes, with the government’s ECO Scheme you can get floor insulation and loft insulation for free if you’re eligible to improve your home’s energy efficiency. The long-running Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme helps people on certain benefits to cut their energy costs through home improvements.
Floor insulation costs and savings
A typical installation could cost you between £520 and £1,300 depending on the circumstances.
Here’s how much you could save on your energy bill (£/year) as well as how many kilograms of CO2 emissions you could save each year with floor insulation:
Energy bill savings (£/year)
Carbon dioxide savings (kgCO2/year)
