If your home was built between 1926 and 1983 it’s likely to have external cavity walls but probably did not have cavity wall insulation installed. If cavity wall insulation was installed after it was built it will probably have holes every metre or so which have been filled with mortar.
Do you qualify for FREE Cavity Wall Insulation 2017?
You do not need to receive State Benefits or Tax Credits but you could save up to £300 each year on your heating bills
Free Cavity Wall Insulation Grants are subject to the following conditions:
Apply for your Free Cavity Wall Insulation Grant TODAY
To see if you qualify for Free Cavity Wall Insulation 2017, you need to check the appearance of the external brickwork on your home.
Cross section of a Cavity Wall
If the bricks are laid ‘end to end’ like in the image shown here, your house was constructed with cavity walls. Cavity walls are normally much thicker than solid walls due to the gap between the external and internal walls.
The internal and external walls are held together with stainless steel brick ties and there should be a cavity between them of approximately 50 mm to 75 mm. This cavity can be insulated to keep your home warmer and reduce heat loss.
Cross Section of a Solid Wall
If the external walls in your home look like this image it will have solid walls and there is no cavity to fill with insulation.
The external and internal walls are held together with bricks which are laid at 90° to the main bricks. That’s why you should be able to see the ends of some of the bricks.
Because solid walls aren’t as thick as cavity walls you will also have narrower internal window sills.
Installing Free Cavity Wall Insulation 2017
Most houses built before the mid-1920s were constructed with solid walls so there will be no cavity which can be insulated. Also, Building Regulations were introduced on 1st January 1983 which made the insulation of cavity walls a requirement for all new houses. So if your home was constructed between these two dates it is likely to have cavity walls but cavity wall insulation would probably not have been installed at the time of construction.
However, your home may have had cavity wall insulation installed after it was built. To do this, holes approximately 22 mm in diameter have to be drilled every metre or so, through which insulation is pumped into the cavity. When the job has been completed these holes are filled with mortar which should be visible on the external wall of your home.
Cavity wall insulation is normally mineral wool or granules of foam which is used to fill the cavity between the external wall and the internal wall, to reduce heat loss and keep your home warm.
Installing cavity wall insulation is not a DIY job and a specialist contractor who is a member of the NIA (National Insulation Association) or CIGA (Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency) should be used for your Free Cavity Wall Insulation 2017.
Around one third of the heat created inside your home will be lost to the outside if you have cavity walls are not insulated. Cavity wall insulation can cut down this heat loss to such an extent that based on an average three bedroom semi-detached house you could save around £250 from your heating bills each year, by installing cavity wall insulation installed.
Cavity wall insulation can also reduce condensation on the inside of the external walls in your home. However, if your home currently suffers from damp, this should be resolved prior to installing cavity wall insulation otherwise the problem could be made worse.
Apply for Free Cavity Wall Insulation 2017
Free cavity wall insulation 2017 is funded by the Energy Companies Obligation known as ECO, which was introduced by the government in 2013. ECO is scheduled to run until March 2017 but once the money allocated to it has been used up, the scheme will end so you should apply for your free cavity wall insulation today.
Funding for the ECO comes from a small levy which is added to every household’s energy bill. This money is fed into an ECO Fund and the big six energy companies filter it down to installation companies which have been accredited under the scheme to install boilers and insulation in homes which meet the relevant criteria.