Underfloor Insulation

How underfloor insulation works and information about grants

 

Can you get a grant for under floor insulation?

As of April 2022, you may be able to claim grant money for underfloor insulation in your home. Invictus Energy Group can have a qualified retrofit assessor evaluate how your home can benefit from underfloor insulation and other measures to keep your home warmer and most cost-efficient.

How to get an under floor insulation grant

We have now entered the UK Government’s ECO4 grant window, in which low-income homes that could benefit from extra insulation such as underfloor insulation may qualify for grant money that covers some or all of the work needed to insulate that home to a higher standard.

To qualify, somebody in your household must be in receipt of one or more of the qualifying benefits (such as child benefit), and we need to demonstrably prove that adding underfloor insulation (as well as other insulating materials) to your home will improve the EPC rating enough to unlock the grant money.

This is because the ECO4 grants are designed to target homes that both require energy efficiency improvement, and are less likely to fund these improvements themselves.

What is suspended floor insulation?

Many homes across the UK have suspended floors. This means that the floorboards do not touch the ground, but instead there is a void space between them and the dirt or concrete floor below. While this allows for superior ventilation which is needed to help prevent nasty things like rising damp, black mould and dry rot, it can also leave the living space above colder and draughtier.

This causes temperatures in that room (often a living room or dining room) to drop which means households feel compelled to warm them up again, causing extra expense as they switch the central heating on, burn more fuel, spend more gas or electricity which ultimately means higher utility prices for that household. 

That’s where suspended floor insulation comes in: where we fit insulative materials below the floorboards in between the joists of the suspended floor, reducing the draft and increasing heat retention in that room.

More insulation means more heat is retained, which means less money is spent heating the room - brilliant! 

Is underfloor insulation worth it?

Assuming that underfloor insulation is used in conjunction with other energy saving measures around your home, then YES, underfloor insulation is absolutely worth it.

That’s why with an ECO4 grant through Invictus Energy Group, it is unlikely that we will just recommend underfloor heating, as a mixed approach that covers more ways of heat escaping your home will always be more effective than just one.

Studies by the Energy Saving Trust estimate that underfloor insulation can help save between £75 and £130 per year on energy bills, which in some cases could be almost a month’s bill!

Of course, with a successful grant application through Invictus Energy Group, it could mean that your underfloor, wall or loft insulation is fitted professionally, completely free of charge!

How much will underfloor insulation save me?

The amount of money you can save on your energy bills due to underfloor heating will vary from property to property, however estimates from the Energy Saving Trust stack up like this:

Average Annual Saving due to Under Floor Insulation

  • Price £
  • Price £

Under floor insulation FAQs

  • Yes, however most or all of these risks are mitigated by a well-planned and professional assessment and fitting. In extreme cases where the wrong materials have been used or they have been fitted incorrectly, it can reduce ventilation to the point that moisture builds up, causing mould issues and in the worst cases, encouraging the floor joists to rot.

    It’s why Invictus Energy Group invest heavily in both our Retrofit assessors and our under floor insulation fitters (affectionately known as our UFI Guys).

  • Suspended floors are common in older homes and are often essential for allowing your home to “breathe”. If you have suspended floors in your home then you may notice that you have airbricks on the exterior walls of your property, positioned lower than your floors. This is to allow for ventilation through the void space so that moist air can’t build up beneath the floorboards and cause mould, damp and rot problems.

    Of course, modern underfloor insulation materials didn’t exist back when these homes were created, so while the void space performs an essential function, it can also mean that the room above feels colder than it needs to be. Correct fitting of modern UFI materials means you benefit from better heat insulation without sacrificing ventilation.

  • Sadly, it’s unlikely that underfloor insulation will be suitable for homes with 100% solid floors, however it depends on how the floor is constructed. In terms of insulation grants, a certain percentage of your floor must be suspended floor for the home to qualify. If you are unsure, we can still send an ECO Retrofit assessor to your property for a full assessment.

  • If your household qualifies for an ECO4 grant, the full cost of fitting under floor insulation in your home may be covered, meaning no funds are required to make this improvement.

    For those that do not qualify for grants, the cost of underfloor insulation will depend entirely on how much area needs to be covered, which will dictate how much material needs to be fitted and how long the job will take.

    Studies by the Energy Saving Trust state that the average UFI fitting costs between £1300 and £2700. If you live in North West England or North Wales, get in touch with the team here at Invictus Energy Group and we will send a Retrofit assessor out to you to provide you with an estimate.

  • Typically most jobs will either use mineral wool rolls similar to loft insulation, or insulation boards depending on what is deemed suitable after assessment.