Thinksulation® is an energy efficiency initiative sponsored by the Energy Saving Trust and Knauf Insulation. Its aim is to show homeowners how they can benefit from home insulation and, at the same time, make a positive contribution towards reducing Global Warming. There’s never been a better time for homeowners to insulate their homes – the Government’s commitment towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions means that every household in the UK is now entitled to subsidised or, in some cases, FREE insulation. Save the planet by saving money – Thinksulation®!

Global Warming is one of the greatest threats facing mankind. A layer of gas – mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) – is trapping heat in Earth’s lower atmosphere causing average temperatures to rise and the climate to change. There’s much debate about exactly what will happen and over what period of time. The polar ice caps will melt causing sea levels to rise and bring widespread flooding. Weather patterns will change and ‘abnormal’ weather will affect us all. It’s a frightening thought. And it’s not ‘if’, or ‘when’, it happens – as we all know, it’s already happening…

The Government’s commitment to the Kyoto Protocol means the UK has to make a major reduction in the amount of greenhouse gas it creates. Studies have shown that the simplest way of doing this is by improving home energy efficiency as burning less fossil fuels would dramatically reduce the amount of CO2 created. To achieve this, a range of practical measures has been identified with two – cavity wall insulation and loft insulation – seen as providing the greatest effect. Better still, they also give homeowners great benefits.

The amount of insulation needed in new homes is specified by the Building Regulations – but what about existing properties? Making homes as energy efficient as possible involves their owners and, to help them take action and get ‘well insulated’, the Government has pledged that all UK households are entitled to subsidised or, in some cases, FREE insulation via the power utility companies.

Installing cavity wall insulation involves filling the cavity in the buildings outer walls with an insulation material. It’s fast, effective and inexpensive. Cavity wall insulation is usually made from glass mineral wool and installation is a simple job for a specialist contractor: small holes are drilled into the outside walls, the insulation ‘injected’ or ‘blown’ into them and the holes filled. Installation in an ‘average’ house takes around three hours and costs about £150. As it’s subsidised by the Government, the cost has never been lower and the reduction in heating bills means that it should pay for itself in less than a year.

If homeowners have loft insulation, they shouldn’t just think they have enough! The most efficient type of loft insulation is glass mineral wool and the current recommendation – as specified for new homes – is for a 270mm thick layer. This is usually a 100mm thick layer laid between the joists with a second, 170mm layer laid across them but, if the loft space is to be used for storage, insulated loft decking such as Polyfoam® Supadeck, can be used as the secondary layer. The cost of installing or ‘topping-up’ loft insulation to the recommended level is also subsidised by the government and, for the ‘average’ house, costs about £120 – not bad compared to a cost of about £1,000 a decade ago!

There’s never been a better time for homeowners to insulate their homes. The Government’s subsidies makes installation easily affordable and both homeowner and environment benefit – homes will be warmer, energy bills will be lower and less CO2 will be created.

Thinksulation® is an energy efficiency initiative sponsored by the Energy Saving Trust and Knauf Insulation to give homeowners practical advice about home insulation. Thinksulation® provides information about the benefits of home insulation, advice about the Government’s subsidies and can arrange free surveys and no obligation quotes for installation. Save the planet by saving money – Thinksulation®!

More information about Global Warming and how home energy efficiency can help beat it, can be found on the Thinksulation® website at www.thinksulation.com. To arrange a free survey and quotation or receive a copy of the Thinksulation® DVD ‘At home with the Warmingtons’, please call 08700 612216 quoting KR 254 04.

® Registered Trademark of Knauf Insulation

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