Energy advice from Dyson Insulations
Reduce your home’s carbon footprint by taking a few simple steps to help you save money, save energy and help towards preventing climate change. Grants are available for larger energy saving measures such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, energy efficient boilers and central heating systems.
Dyson Insulations have access to funding from the major energy suppliers under the government's carbon emissions reduction target. We are also approved contractors under the Warmfront scheme and have access to the £300 boiler discount vouchers if you are over 60.
- Up to a quarter of the heat produced in the home is lost through an un-insulated loft.
- The recommended depth for mineral wool insulation is 270mm.
- If any water tanks are present in the loft they should be insulated with a tank jacket. Pipes should also be lagged to prevent them from freezing once the loft is insulated.
- To prevent cold draughts, the loft hatch should be draught-proofed.
- Grants are available for loft insulation to be installed. Our surveyor can assess whether your loft is adequately insulated and provide a competitive quote.
Around a third of all heat lost in an un-insulated home is through the walls. Cavity wall insulation reduces heat loss and can save you around £115 a year on fuel bills* (*based on gas heated 3 bed semi house with a gas price of 3.80p/kWh).
If your home was built from 1920 onwards chances are it will have cavity walls. Generally speaking, your home will be suitable for cavity wall insulation if the external walls have a cavity with a minimum width of 50mm which has not previously been filled, and the masonry/brickwork is in good condition.
Grants are available for cavity wall insulation to be installed. Our surveyor can assess whether your property is suitable and provide a competitive quote.
Homes built before or around 1920 are likely to have solid walls rather than cavity walls. Around 45% of heat lost in an un-insulated solid walled home is through the walls.
Insulating solid walls either internally or externally would give you savings of up to £500 a year on your heating bills.
If you have a G-rated boiler or below, it is unlikely to be very efficient. A quick test to determine if your boiler is G-rated is to see if it has a permanent pilot light. If that is the case, chances are it is a G-rated boiler.
New boilers have rated efficiencies of 90% or more, meaning they use less fuel, resulting in lower CO2 emissions and running costs. For example, if you upgrade a G-rated boiler to an A-rated boiler, your household heating bill should drop by about a quarter.
Bathroom
Shower/bath - Take a shower instead of a bath. Showers use less than half the amount of water needed for a bath meaning less energy is required to heat the water.
Sink tap (dripping) - Fix leaking taps and always ensure they are fully turned off after use. A dripping hot water tap wastes energy, and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath.
Bedroom
Lightbulb/lamp - Turn off lights when leaving the room. Swap your standard bulbs for energy saving bulbs, which use four times less electricity and last up to 10 times as long. This saves around £40 over the lifetime of the bulb.
Lounge
Radiator - Reduce your room thermostat by just 1º and you could cut your heating bill by up to 10%.
Television - Don’t leave appliances such as the TV, PC and Hi-Fi on standby. 80% of the energy used by a television is while it is in standby mode. Equally, mobile phone and laptop chargers should be unplugged when not in use.
Kitchen
Boiler - Water does not need to be heated to a scalding temperature. Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60ºC/140ºF.
Kettle - Only boil as much water as you need. Heating water uses a lot of energy and we tend to boil double the amount we actually use. Cutting back could add up to a £20 annual saving.
Washing machine - When possible, fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher. If you only have half a load, use the machine's economy cycle. Also turn the heat down - washing at 40º rather than 60º uses 1/3 less electricity.
Fridge - Don’t leave the fridge door open and avoid putting warm food straight into the fridge. It takes longer to regain its temperature therefore using more energy.
External
Roof - Solar panel. The sun's energy is free! Solar panels provide the technology to harness that power. A new government scheme has been announced to offer long-term loans to homeowners to pay for energy saving improvements such as solar panels. Dyson can offer a green loan to help. Find your way to a greener home with our Pay back up to 8 Years.
Garden - Ground source heat pump. On average, a ground source heat pump could save around 540kg of CO2 every year when replacing an oil boiler. Heating your home with a ground source heat pump is much more efficient than using electric radiators.
