Energy Saving and Loft Insualtion
A quarter of heat lost from homes occurs through the roof of uninsulated lofts. Installing insulation to your loft or roof space is great way to save on your energy and prevent heat loss. Whilst many see insulation as an unwanted added cost to their roofing or home project, the insulation will pay for itself many times over during its lifespan in energy savings.
If you are renewing more than 25% of the roof coverings, then insulation must be installed and meet the minimum energy efficiency values to comply with today’s Building Regulations.
Correctly insulating your loft space has many benefits which include:
- Lowering the cost of your heating bills
- Improve your homes energy efficiency rating and carbon footprint
- Keeps your home warm during the winter months and cooler in the summer months
- Helps to reduce condensation problems within your home
Types of insulation for your roof
Open Loft voids – In loft voids which have not been converted into a living space, a quilted roll insulation is usually installed between the ceiling rafters or joists.
We tend to use Earthwool Insulation which is manufactured from recycled glass bottles, sand and other materials. It is non-hydroscropic (absorbs and holds practically no moisture from the air around it), non-combustible (won’t catch fire) and will not rot or attract vermin.
Earthwool Insulation uses a modern bio-based ‘binder’ technology instead of traditional petro-based chemicals such as phenol, formaldehyde and acrylics.
Converted loft voids – To loft voids, which have been converted into living accommodation (i.e bedroom, office etc), you will want to keep the area warm and therefore, it is not practical to insulate the floor area. Instead ridged insulation boards would be installed in between the roof rafters, cut to size and fit snuggly in between the rafters preventing any draughts and heat loss.
Flat roofs – To flat roof areas it is common practise to install a ‘warm roof deck’ which consist of installing insulation boards below the waterproof membrane and above the structural deck creating a warm roof ; this is carried out during the construction of the roof or during the renewal of the roof covering. Cold flat roofs tend to be avoided as the appropriate ventilation would need to be installed which can be problematic and costly.
Loft storage – Should you wish for the loft area to be used for storage purposes a storage platform would need to be created over the insulation as regulations state that boarding should not be fitted directly over the insulation as the U-value will be lost. A storage platform is created by constructing a timber structure which is raised over the insulation
