Have you had the free/subsidised home insulation?

[JimbosJetSet]

... Did it make your house hotter during the summer?

We have had a letter through the door from BG offering free house insulation, but we are concerned that if we do it, it will make our house even more furnace like in the summer.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

We had it done but didn't notice anything over summer. Our house is a warm house anyway.

it won't

If you open your loft hatch in hot weather the hot air will rise out that way (assuming you can't leave windows open).

Didnt notice it in the summer, but made a huge difference in the winter.

+1

Ok thanks, that's interesting to hear.

We did our loft this time last year... DIY job, but the insulation was dirt cheap from homebase thanks to govt subsidy.

House was perfectly comfortable during the hot weather, but that may have been helped by having open chimneys and an exposed location. It never feels stagnant here. A friend in a chimneyless house, and a sheltered spot has found her home pretty stuffy in summer since loft insulation and double glazing fitted.

I tried, but having drilled into my front wall they said my cavity was too wide. They won't do the loft unless your eligible for cavity wall insulation too.

We had cavity wall insulation done a couple of years ago for free (already had quite a bit of loft insulation). Haven't noticed it being hotter in the summer, but it has really helped in the winters.

We had it several years ago.... slightly p'eed off we did now. It has made our house warmer, but we now have major condensation issues in the loft. We have a Victorian house, so it has its own 'traditional' ventilation system (air flow under floor boards / air bricks etc). The company that did the cavity wall never suggested that we might need to do additional things to our house to let it 'breathe' after all the insulation was in place. We've had numerous builders round since, and they all said that Victorian houses (& edwardian) shouldnt' really be messed about with cavity wall insulation as they're not really designed or built to cope with such insulation.
Just a word of warning to anyone reading this with an old house.
But yes, its defo made house warmer, although warmer more noticeable in winter than summer

friend in a chimneyless house, and a sheltered spot has found her home pretty stuffy in summer since loft insulation and double glazing fitted

I should think that will be because her old windows were draughty, so she was getting the benefit of ventilation without needing to open the windows. Modern windows are (should be) very draught-proof so need extra attention to ventilation.