How to make old homes energy efficient!
The first thing you need to understand is also the most important and simplest thing, old buildings are different to modern buildings. They are built with different materials, they are built with different standards and they will perform differently with the same materials introduced.
The Governments Green Deal is wholly wrong and will be catastrophic for older properties. The problem is that there are very few people who really know what they are doing and even less in Government or advising them.
Old buildings were built to breathe, and most damp problems are due to this simple matter being prevented. You see that if you insulate the wall on the outside, that could keep the moisture in, causing damp and mould. If you insulate on the inside the wall outside will get colder, possibly making the moisture condense and saturate the wall.
Before you start spending money on insulating your home or buying fancy new windows, check the basics first and ask yourself, is my building well maintained and working as it was designed? Probably not? Well then let us start there.
Fit draught excluders to your letterbox and outside doors, get heavier curtains, make sure your radiators are not blocked by furniture, mend the broken panes of glass, fill in the gaps in the wooden paneling, insulate the loft access hatch, change all lights to LED.
Next ask how are you heating the property? Sporadically? We talk lots about Thermal Mass and Thermal comfort to our clients and this is really what its all about. Maintaining the heat in the property to a minimum of 15 degrees all year round with excellent, humidity-controlled ventilation is the only way t achieve this.
Next thing is to look at your gas or oil boiler. How efficient is it? What about the radiators? Is my Inglenook or open fire losing more heat than its producing? Could I install a Stove in its place?
The matter is simple, treat your building harmoniously and maintain it to a high standard regularly.
Point of interest – If your building is damp, then your walls will lose around 30% of their ability to retain heat so maintenance is the key all year round.
Contact us today for a no obligation discussion on insulating your home or damp problems.