What home improvements can help you save on energy bills?

It’s hard to escape news about rising energy bills in the UK at the moment, and while the gloriously warm summer we’ve had down here on the South coast has meant many of us haven’t had to think about using our heating, as we move into autumn that will certainly change.

At the end of August, the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem increased the energy price cap, which means for an average household using dual fuels, energy bills will be capped at £3,549 per year. Ofgem also warned the price cap could rise again in the new year.

Understandably, this has made many people worried about energy bills, but there are some steps you can take to improve the energy efficiency of your home and thereby reduce the amount you’re spending on heating this winter.

As Property Reporter recently noted, some of the home improvements you can make are very cost effective, so even if you don’t have the funds available for a wholesale home renovation in Bournemouth at the moment, there are some changes you can make that could still help.

For example, one of the easiest and simplest options is to make sure you draught-proof your home, which you can do yourself using self-adhesive, draught-excluding tape to cover unwanted gaps around windows, chimneys and doors. A roll of this tape costs less than £5, and could deliver almost £700 in savings over five years.

Many of the other home improvement projects that will make your property more energy efficient, however, will require the assistance of professional builders in Bournemouth, Poole, or Christchurch.

Installing both wall and loft insulation were among the best options cited by the news provider. Making sure your roof is properly insulated, for example, could save the average household over £2,000 over five years.

Wall insulation, meanwhile, offers slightly lower savings, coming in at an average of £1,663 over the course of five years. The type of insulation you’ll need for your walls will depend on whether your home has cavity or solid walls and it’s worth noting that it’s generally more expensive to insulate solid wall properties.

However, many buildings in the Bournemouth and Poole area fall into this category, because they were built before cavity walls were widespread in construction. For example, Victorian era properties are almost always constructed with solid walls.

If you’ve been considering carrying out home renovations in Bournemouth, we will be happy to give you advice about the best way to insulate your home, and to see whether it is work that could be easily carried out alongside your project.

For example, if you are considering having a loft conversion or need a new roof in Poole, this would be the ideal opportunity to also add loft insulation.

If you would like to find out more about the property renovation projects we can assist you with in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, please get in touch and a member of our professional team will be happy to contact you to discuss your needs. We will take the time to get to know you and your family to ensure that any recommendations we make about alterations to your property will meet your needs and be money well spent.