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Insulation

Insulating the thermal envelope of a building where possible is the first stage to reducing your energy bills and your property's heat loss.

This covers loft space and under floors. Most loft spaces have suitable access to install earthwool to the standard depth of 270mm. Walls can be insulated (depending on construction method) in various ways. The most common when retrofitting is cavity wall, insulated internal wall and external wall insulation.

Cavity wall insulation where appropriate is usually one of two types:-

• Blown Mineral Fibre
• Blown EPS Bead (expanded polystyrene)

Holes are drilled externally to ensure the thermal insulating material is spread evenly within the wall cavity when mechanically blown, then sealed when completed.

Internal Wall Insulation (IWI) is normally fitted to older properties with solid stone walls where there is no cavity. This is normally insulated plasterboard which is then finished to allow the customer a finish that can be painted.

External Wall Insulation (EWI) is normally fitted to non-tradtional builds with a small or no cavity. This is a polystyrene board that is fitted externally rendered to suit the property.

Under-floor insulation can be carried out where appropriate space below a suspended wooden floor is available. Earthwool similar to loft insulation is used and netting is fitted to hold it in place between floor joists.

Air Source Heat Pumps

A well insulated property helps an Air Source Heat Pump to work at it's maximum efficiency this combined with a low temperature design and modern controls help a heat pump run at peak performance. A heat pump works by taking the air and passes it through refrigerant technology. It is then super charged and transferred to the pipework that enters the house and heats up both radiators and hot water cylinder. By using a low temperature design for the radiators similar to showering temperature along with new heating controls - you are able to optimise performance! Combining these controls with weather compensation the radiators fluctuate in temperature throughout the year. The colder the outside temperature the warmer the radiators will be maintaining an optimum temperature with low energy usage.

Solar PV

Generating your own electricity from panels on your roof is the last stage of making your property Net Heat Zero. Solar PV Panels (ideally situated on a South facing roof) will generate power even on a roof that is not South facing. It is preferable to place Solar PV panels on a South facing roof as this maximises performance and generates more electricity.

A typical panel will be rated around 300 watts. If you have 10 panels fitted for example you will have a 3kw system. At it's peak that system can generate a maximum of 3kw per hour. During the year the amount the panels generate varies - during summer it will generate more as the daylight hours are longer and the sun is higher in the sky. During winter the panels create less due to less daylight hours in a low winter sun however they do still generate electricty!