Home Insurance - Tips And Advice
Home insurance tips. From security to helping you save money, visit this section for our latest tips and advice.
Save energy and reap the rewards
Energy saving is all-important over the winter period and beyond. Good insulation, draft exclusion and efficient energy consumption could save you £'s as well as helping our environment.
- According to the National Insulation Association (NIA), solving insulation problems could save you up to 48% of your fuel bill a year
- 25% due to installing cavity wall insulation (or around 16-18% for insulation for solid-walled houses)
- 20% due to loft insulation
- 12.5% due to double-glazing
- 10% due to draught proofing
Warm Front Grants
Introduced in June 2000, the Warm Front grant and Warm Front Plus grant are Government-funded initiatives for those already receiving some form of benefit. They provide up to £1,500 of energy efficiency and heating measures tailored to your property. For more information and to find out about eligibility, see www.eaga.co.uk/grants for more information.
The Energy Saving Trust also has a grants database on its website. It can direct people to the grants/offers available to them in their area and tailored to their circumstances from the energy suppliers, Government and local authority.
Loft insulation
A large amount of heat is lost through the roof, not through the windows, as many people think as heat rises upwards - and it is cheaper to insulate the loft than install double glazing throughout a house. While most UK houses have loft insulation, most should have it topped up to 270 mm for glass wool, 250 mm for rock wool, or 220 mm for cellulose, which are the requirements for new homes. Installation can be complex and should be carried out by an expert, National Insulation Association member using a British Standard product. See www.ncia-ltd.org.uk for more information.
Cavity wall insulation
Thirty three per cent of heat is lost through the walls, but fortunately cavity wall insulation is fairly cheap and easy. Most houses built between the 1930s and 1980s have a gap between the two layers of brick in the wall that can be filled with insulation. Local installers should carry out a survey free of charge.
Central heating
Timed Central heating ensures you only use what you need when you need it for example coming on a hour before you arrive home from work.
Lighting
If every home in the UK replaced three standard light bulbs with energy saving ones, it would save enough energy to light UK streets for one year. The energy efficient bulbs last up to 12 times longer than their energy inefficient counterparts and can save you up to £78 over the bulb’s lifetime or what not turn that light of in the room your not using.
Energy suppliers
The Government's Energy Efficiency Commitment means energy suppliers of a certain size operating in Great Britain are obliged to help achieve targets for improving home energy efficiency. The suppliers therefore provide a range of offers which significantly reduce the cost of installing energy efficiency measures. What's more, you can take up offers from any of the energy companies, regardless of who supplies your gas and electricity.
Energy Saving
The Energy Sharp campaign, run by Energy Watch and Ofgem, provide these Top 10 tips for saving energy in your home:
- Don’t leave appliances on standby
- Replace regular lightbulbs with energy efficient ones
- Close curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows
- Fit draught excluders around doors and windows. Taping polythene to window frames is a cheap alternative to double glazing
- Defrost your freezer regularly to keep it running efficiently
- Only use the dishwasher and washing machine on a full load
- Only heat areas of the house you’re using
- Place an insulating jacket over the hot water tank, saving up to £15 per year
- Don’t overheat using the central heating - one degree lower can equal 10% less fuel consumption
- Only boil as much water as you need in the kettle