When you insulate the walls of your home, you help prevent the heat from your radiators escaping through them and into the cold outside. This means your central heating system won’t have to work as hard to achieve comfortable temperatures, which will save you energy and money on utility bills.
Cavity wall insulation, or CWI, is one of the most effective ways to improve the thermal efficiency of your property, especially older homes where the brickwork may be poor quality or have moisture problems. However, there are many different types of insulation to consider and it’s essential that you speak with an accredited installer and have a boroscope inspection carried out to confirm your property is suitable for cavity wall insulation.
To install CWI, the specialist will drill holes into your external walls, which are then pumped with an insulating material which is blown in through these gaps. The process should only take a few hours and is very straightforward.
The most popular and cost-effective form of cavity wall insulation today is Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam. This is essentially little beads of a carbon polymer which undergo a steaming process to give them the familiar ‘bead’ shape you see in your walls today, and they are then sicked in with a bonding agent. They are lightweight and have a low impact on the environment, meaning they are an ideal option for modern energy efficient homes.
Another option is Cemwood CW1000 which is a mineralised woodchip product and is a slightly greener alternative to EPS. It also has a payback period of around 2-4 years and comes with a professional CIGA guarantee to ensure you’re protected should you experience damp issues after the insulation has been installed.