Works are well underway in this retrofit project for a large detached family home on the outskirts of Edinburgh. As well as internal alterations and kitchen and bathroom modernization, the client wanted to reduce the energy costs of heating the 240m2 home.
Built in the 1980s the home has an EPC D rating, the average for Scotland, with an annual energy bill of £3,048.
Living Space: As well as insulation to the external walls, the windows are being replaced with triple glazing
By insulating the walls by 75mm, we reduced the U-Value from 0.39 to 0.17 reducing the heat loss by 230%, also increasing the EPC to a B rating. The new projected energy costs are £1,320, which is an annual saving of £1,728. The cost of these insulation upgrade works was £3,950, giving an impressive payback period of just over 2 years.
(The U-Value is the heat loss figure: the lower the number the less heat is lost through that component)
Walls: The existing walls are a timber kit construction with minimal mineral wool insulation, and this is now supplemented with a highly energy efficient rigid insulation fixed across the inside of the existing timber studs.
Energy Bill Tracker: Most UK homes are EPC rating D, but with insulation added, will increase to EPC rating B. Renewables are required to increase to an EPC rating A.
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