3 steps to creating an energy efficient home

Warming cool air allows it to circulate around your home – but this warm air can also escape if it lacks proper insulation. Escaped heating is a key driver of poor energy efficiency in homes. That is why we teamed up with subject experts to create some useful steps you can follow to conserve energy, by creating an energy efficient home. 

These changes can also help improve the energy rating of your home. There are a few different terms to grasp here, an EPC rating is specific for the UK, and stands for ‘Energy Performance Certificate’, and this is a record of your home’s likely fuel costs and carbon dioxide emissions, which is assessed by looking at the energy efficiency rating (EER). If you are based in Ireland, ‘Building Energy Rating’ also known as a BER, is the A to G rating given to homes based on the amount of energy it requires to complete the same tasks. A house that requires less energy is given a higher BER rating as it uses less carbon emissions. The key point to keep in mind is that, if your home uses less energy, it has a lower carbon footprint.

Usually properties with a high EPC or BER rating are more expensive on the market, so there is also a long-term financial gain in building an energy efficient home. Being able to use less energy for the same tasks also means lower utility bills, therefore, indicating a short-term benefit as well.

So, how can you make changes to create a more energy efficient home? We spoke to Stroma’s Principal Building Control Surveyor, Stuart Hammond to find out.

Ever thought about how igloos stay warm? It’s all to do with insulation, where the compressed snow traps warm air inside. Since most houses around the world are not built from snow, different types of insulation is required to prevent heat from escaping.

Using seals around doors and windows can help block unwanted cold air from infiltrating your toasty home. Often these seals need to be replaced around the edge of your doorway and a double seal threshold strip at the bottom. Don’t forget to draught-proof your letterbox as well, with a seal on the outside and a brush on the inside. Controlled ventilation is equally important as it prevents dampness and condensation, by controlling the level of fresh air that enters your home. 

Have you checked your windows lately? If you have single glazed windows with a metal frame, you may want to upgrade to double or even triple glazing, with low-emissivity glass. Again, trickle ventilation is important here to prevent condensation and the growth of mould. Therefore, it may be worth looking into control systems for vents. If you have holes in your window frames, you can also use a sealant which provides water resistance. 

Cold air can also enter your home through the chimney. So, if you have a fireplace but don’t use it for an open fire, a draught excluder, such as a chimney plug or a balloon can help prevent cold air from lowering the temperature of your home.

Did you know, 58% of heat is said to be lost through the roof and walls. Therefore, investing in some insulation for your home can bring down your carbon footprint and bills considerably. To upgrade insulation in your loft, suspended floor or walls, you’ll need Building Regulation approval, so please ensure you contact an approved inspector for this.

To understand the type of wall insulation you require, you first need to evaluate whether you have solid walls (one layer of wall with no gaps) or cavity walls (a hollow centre dividing the two layers). Solid walls are insulated on the exterior or interior surface, whereas, with a cavity wall it is fitted into the hollow space between the two layers. A range of insulation materials can be used, but you should always speak to a specialist contractor to ensure that you’re preventing heat loss during harsh winters.

For loft insulation, you can use a range of different insulators with a recommended thickness of 270mm, and loft insulation is usually fitted between the joists on the loft floor, with roof insulation placed between the tiles and rafters. The easiest way to increase the insulation in your home is to add it into your loft, here you can roll out mineral wool insulation in loft rolls in between your ceiling joists and over the top of them.

Carpets can act as brilliant insulators for floors with fibres that have low thermal conductivity. So the thicker the carpet, the greater the insulation. To upgrade your floor insulation, you’ll need the floorboards to be removed to place netting or chicken wire under the joists, and mineral wool insulation between them.  A rug can instantly help insulate your floors, it won’t be as effective as a thick carpet or insulation under your floorboards, but it will most definitely help. 

Installing a smart meter can help you keep track of your energy consumption and the cost of utilities at the same time. There are also smart thermostats that you can download on your phone to track this anywhere in your house. Lowering your thermostat by just one degree can cut your heating bill by 10% and you won’t even feel the difference. 

Upgrading your radiators with thermostatic controls can help gain more control over what rooms you’d like to heat and what rooms you don’t need to. Curtains help to retain the level of heat in homes by limiting the flow of air. However, make sure you don’t cover the thermostatic controls on the radiators with your curtains, as this prevents the sensor from picking up the flow of air. It also interrupts the process of convection that draws cold air from the bottom and releases hot air from the top. You should also pull your furniture away from the radiators to allow the hot air to flow freely. A heat reflector foil can be placed behind the radiator to prevent heat from escaping as it reflects it back into the room.

Small changes can make a huge difference…even at the switch of a button!

If 80% of lights are switched to low energy light bulbs by 2024, a whopping 230 kWh/year will be saved on average per household. To make the switch, perhaps invest in LED bulbs as they use a lot less energy than incandescent or fluorescent lights. These may cost more upfront but over time you’ll accumulate less expenses. Switching off lights when leaving a room seems rather simple, but remembering to do so will make a huge difference. 

Depending on location, you can also install solar panels on your roof, which produce renewable energy from the sun. In some cases excess power created by you can be fed into the power network for others to use.

Remember to switch off/unplug any electrical appliances that are not in use. If you find yourself leaving electrical appliances on stand-by, you can use a smart power strip or a plug-in timer for appliances such as the TV, in case you fall asleep on the sofa.

Switching to lower temperatures when washing your clothes can help conserve energy. In fact, opting to run your machine at 30°C instead of 40°C, can lower energy consumption by 60% per load. Avoid washing your clothes when your drum is not ¾ full, as this will mean more loads are required for the same amount of clothes. You can also switch from using the tumble dryer to air drying your clothes on a drying rack or on a washing line.

You can avoid adding large pots and pans into the dishwasher to prevent using the machine more times than needed. When washing dishes by hand, a washing bowl can help save the amount of water you use. Furthermore, you can also install water saving taps that reduce the flow of water by combining it with air, cutting your water consumption dramatically. 

Fridge/freezers are often ranked as one of the highest energy consuming home appliances, accounting for around 12% of average household bills. Seals around the edge of fridge/freezer doors act as barriers between the warm air in your home and the cool air circulating around the fridge. Often these can become loose, break and even have cracks, so it may be worth checking to see if they need to be cleaned or replaced entirely. Controlling the temperature inside the appliance using controls and ensuring the seals are working properly can help preserve the excess energy that is used to keep the contents inside fresh. Upgrading to an energy efficient model could potentially help slash your energy bills in half, reducing your carbon footprint considerably.

There are lots of options available for creating an energy efficient home, and remember to always consult an expert before undertaking any structural work. 

Sign up today to join Ecologi and help make the world a little greener!