Chilly UK homeowners are taking action after a string of harsh winters \u2013 with more than a million fitting extra insulation to their property in the last year, new research from the Energy Saving Trust has found.<\/p>\n
The latest statistics show an incredible HALF of British homes (13 million) still have under-insulated lofts and 25 per cent (6.5 million) have un-insulated cavity walls \u2013 with millions of UK households still eligible for free or discounted help to solve their heat-loss problems<\/p>\n
Through the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) scheme, around four million homes in the UK have taken up grants and offers to pay for cavity wall or loft insulation since April 2008. Thousands more could yet take advantage before the CERT scheme ends on December 31. It will be superseded by Green Deal, a financing mechanism which lets householders pay for energy-efficiency improvements<\/a> using savings they will make on their energy bills.<\/p>\n Around a third of all the heat lost in an uninsulated home goes through the walls, with another quarter lost through the roof. Lofts can be insulated with simple mineral wool, while walls can have existing cavities filled, or have solid insulation fitted to them.<\/p>\n The Energy Saving Trust survey also found more than a fifth (21 per cent) of people are \u201cvery interested\u201d in fitting insulation to their home.<\/p>\n An average household could save \u00a3175 a year by fitting 270mm of new insulation to their uninsulated loft \u2013 as well as preventing 720kg of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Cavity wall insulation<\/a> can save up to \u00a3135 and 550kg of carbon dioxide a year.<\/p>\n Stephen Passmore, a housing expert at the Energy Saving Trust, said: \u201cIt\u2019s clear that more and more people are taking insulation seriously \u2013 after all, it can literally stop your money going up in smoke.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re encouraged that so many homeowners have fitted insulation in the last 12 months, and further heartened that 21 per cent are very interested in following their example.<\/p>\n