Insulate your home to save energy

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A person installing insulation into the wall of a house

Insulate your loft, either adding new insulation if you have none or increase the amount already there. A quarter of a house's heat is lost through the roof in an uninsulated home. Insulating your roof saves you money on your bills and saves emissions. You can do it yourself if your loft is accessible or you can hire someone to come and install it.

By making sure your home is properly insulated, you can reduce the amount of energy you need to heat your home - saving you money. Making these improvements also make your home healthier and more comfortable to spend time in by addressing issues such as damp and draughts.

These sorts of improvements to your home are generally known as 'retrofitting'. Unfortunately, doing retrofit in the right way is complex, and can involve significant amounts of time spent researching and project managing - but fortunately in Oxfordshire, Cosy Homes Oxfordshire are pioneering ways to help.

Climate impact

Home energy consumption accounts for around 20% of total carbon emissions in the UK. According to Ofgem an average UK home with a medium energy consumption uses 12,000 kWh of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity per year (2020 figures). That represents total carbon emissions of over 3,000kg per year. These figures could be drastically reduced through making energy efficiency improvements to our homes – reducing energy use to cut carbon emissions.

Next steps

Take a look at the Energy Saving Trust's guide before you get started.Try out Cosy Homes Oxfordshire’s free Plan Builder app to quickly get an idea about the changes that you could make to your home. You can also register for a home energy assessment.

If you have a household income under £39,000 (or £31,000 in Oxford)

If your primary heating doesn’t use mains gas (such as storage heaters, an oil boiler, coal fire, etc), find out if you're eligible for fully funded solar panels through the Home Upgrade Grant:Oxfordshire County Council- contact Welcome the Warmth on 0800 038 6775 or the online application form via this link. Oxford City Council - contact Agility Eco on 0800 107 8883 or the online application form via this link. General advice on retrofitting in Oxford can be found in the Council's web guide.
If your primary heating system does use mains gas (such as a boiler), please contact the Better Housing, Better Health service on 0800 107 0044, use the online referral form via this link or email bhbh@nef.org.uk.