the government would be better insulating everyones homes

[ivykaty44]

thus reducing the fuel bills year on year and effectively giving everyone ££££ every year than just once

so why when I use an uninsulated mug does my coffee go cold but when I use a thermos it stays warm for 4 hours?

The insulation "easy wins" have mostly been achieved. To significantly improve old housing stock further is massively expensive. We're talking about things like replacing windows and retro-fitting sheets of solid insulation board either to the inner or outer faces of exterior walls. Both jobs are expensive in themselves, and also cause massive disruption needing complete redecoration. We're talking five-figure sums, not three-figure ones. And we don't have a small fraction of the workers available to do that on a nationwide scale.

It's the wrong scale for the government I think.

Government is good for the things individuals and small communities cannot do (install new off shore wind, nuclear power plants, fund research e.t.c.).

It's not good at the personal scale (insulating your home). It could throw all homeowners and landlords some money to do - but I think Furlough showed so clearly that corruption would steal a huge percentage. It also has the problem of funnelling money to those that may well not need it (i.e. people who own property or multiple properties).

The government would also end up in court sooner or later over liability from the workmen funded (poor work, possibly dangerous, dodgy workmen entering vulnerable womens home).

So no - I think big infrastructure is what the government should stick to. The huge wind power generation installed by the UK over the last years has been excellent. The new nuclear plants should significantly help reduce emissions in the future and the UK government funded hydrogen research looks really promising.

A thermos is vacuum insulated. You cannot vacuum insulate a house. Basic physics.

Discovereads sorry but I don't buy it that insulation doesn't work, insulation in my last home was limited to the roof and windows, since moving I have insulated roof, windows and cavity walls - the house is far warmer for longer and the bills lower. It may not be a vacuum but the insulation keeps the place warmer for longer

Your coffee was already hot when you put it in the thermos.

Unless a house is being heated internally, insulation won't make that much difference.

I did not say insulation doesn’t work. I stated you cannot vacuum insulate a house like you can a thermos. And you can’t.

Discovereads I did not say insulation doesn’t work I didn't accuse you of saying it - my post was in relation to the two posts above. Obbydoo, didn't notice any change in the warmth - but then if you don't change the thermostat you wouldn't would you? its just that you'd use less energy to heat to the same temperature

Obbydoo · Today 21:09
I had my house insulated a few years ago. I didn't notice any change in the warmth of the house. Insulation as a solution to our energy issues seems to be massively overplayed
Add message

Bookmark
Report

TheCanyon · Today 21:13
We got our cavity wall done 3 years ago, it's really not made any difference whatsoever.

Most uk homes are designed to breathe

Our house has loft, underfloor and cavity insulation. It’s still cold….

Would you trust Government and/or Council insulation schemes? They didn't do so well with Grenfell Tower.

Actually, that’s usually due to poor insulation.
proper insulation would keep the house cool

Darn it, reply fail

talking about an apartment that’s “over” insulated

a huge improvement would I imagine be if many rental properties had work done, thats where issues often are.

That should be happening within a few years, though the schedule seems longer than necessary. Rentals currently have an EPC rating of E or above, from 2025 new rentals will need to be at least C, and all rentals C by 2028. (There may be a better source of info than this link, it's just the first thing I found when I googled, being vaguely aware that some change was in the offing)

thelandlordassociation.co.uk/new-2025-epc-regulations-for-all-rented-property

Yes we will, its still very cheap to heat a home from 7am to 8pm for about 4 months of the year.

We have an old house, we have insulated and now get problems with condensation we didn't get before, so it's not always a simple solution

Insulation and replacement windows, boilers etc to reduce energy consumption require people to fit them. Probably in short supply because of Brexit.

Then that ignores cooking, lighting and other use of electricity.

I think your view is overly simplistic based on the sorts of houses YOU have lived in.

our house is well insulated but it’s an old listed property which needs to breathe. If you upgraded the windows and doors (which we can’t do under the listing) to more thermally efficient versions, there would be no throughflow of air and damp would start to appear. We throw a lot of money in fuel to keep this place warm in winter, through heating and open fires which are better for the house.

For us, the big driver of energy costs is electricity. We've reduced by about 25% but it's hard to see where else we can cut it back now without significant changes such as cooking less oven meals from scratch.

I agree that focus on renewable energy is the way to go. But in a way that we get to keep that energy (vs it belonging to shareholders in France that then sell it on the open market to the highest bidder).

I agree OP.

Insulation of course does make a difference but it doesn't necessarily save you money... We have spent thousands on new windows, roof insulation, putting in carpets etc to our old and cold house.... It is warmer but I am not sure we have saved any money!

What’s the timeframe and cost for this?

The problem with a government scheme is that different houses need different insulation solutions depending on their construction. And some houses (particularly older ones) need very careful insulation solutions to both cause issues with condensation.

I have seen houses riddled with mould and damp to the touch(inside walls) as a result of poorly installed cavity wall insulation on a house which wasn't suitable for it.

Most home owners don't understand th3 construction of their houses well enough as the majot house builders are not required to publish their drawings on council planning portals like the rest of us. So that makes it harder. And not enough people understand the technologies anyway.

A single programme would be ungovernable. It' not as simple as it seems.

Most houses can be improved for both electricity and insulation with the right skills unfortunately it can be expensive, disruptive and getting skilled people who can assess the right way to do it and then skilled people to do the work can be difficult.
Insulation schemes in the past have failed because they have approached the problem with one solution fits all mentality but different housing stock needs different approaches. Often you need to look at insulation combined with ventilation.
Whacking on insulation with little plan can and does cause other problems like condensation to occur.
Modern houses are supposed to be built to better standards but the way they are assessed on mass means that often one or two houses on an estate are built really well for assessment and the rest although specified to high standards are often built so badly that they don't actually work to a design level.
It's crazy and sad that we as a middle class family with money who could afford the price rises fairly comfortably are insulated from them because we could invest up front when we improved our house. Specialised knowledge (I'm an architect) and money have gone a long way. Thanks to solar panels and a battery, upgraded insulation, heating, draughtproofing, ventilation and new windows, our Victorian house energy demand is minimal. Our bill for electricity including charging an electric car this month will be less than £5.
Investment in a more holistic approach of reducing demand and upgrading more sustainable energy options would have brought costs down across the board as it has in nations that have adopted this approach however about 12yrs ago we elected a government with other priorities and it's now biting us on the arse.

Had my 1940's ex council house cavity walls done. Worse mistake ever. I have damp and mould because the house can no longer breath. We redecorated and found the fluffy foam stuff they used in the air vents so had to them sort every room.
I've had the loft done and praying now for the fluffy foam stuff to dissolve or whatever it does .
My house will sign a sound of relief when the day comes.