The weather is definitely turning chilly now as we head towards the holiday season. Hopefully you’re spending your evenings cosy inside, but for some people keeping their homes at a good temperature and getting rid of drafts can be a real problem. One of the main culprits behind a cold house is a lack of insulation; it doesn’t matter how much heat you pump into the house, if it’s poorly insulated, it’ll escape almost straight away. Adding insulation to your walls and attic - or having a whole-house seal up - can make a real difference.

Insulating your home

A lack of insulation is more of a problem in older properties, as more recent building codes reflect our modern appreciation of its importance. However, even some modern homes can benefit from extra insulation. Insulation can help to reduce heat loss from a house by up to 80% - helping you to stay warm in winter, but also has the added benefit of being a little cooler in summer. This not only means you can enjoy a warm house, but look forward to a significantly lower energy bill and environmental impact. If you also think about upgrading to an energy-efficient and eco-friendly heating system, you’ll reap the benefits even further.

If walls could talk

The walls of your house are the largest exterior structure - and, along with your roof, the part of your house that’s most exposed to all the elements. Properties with empty or poorly insulated wall cavities lose the most heat, as these spaces are sadly ideal for heat-transfer from the warmth of your home to the cold outside. Densely packed good quality insulation blown into the cavities will help to greatly reduce the amount of heat loss through your walls, saving you from chilly nights and frozen pipes in winter.

What’s in the attic?

Adding insulation to your attic is another excellent way to help keep your home warmer for winter. As any grade school kid knows, heat rises - so cranking up the thermostat if you’ve got no attic insulation just means you’re pouring heat up into the sky. Adding proper ventilation systems can also help with the moisture which collects in your attic, and to reduce the heat in summer.

Depending on the age and condition of your property, there’s probably several small cracks and holes around pipes, sockets, roof tiles, and windows which you’re not aware of. These are letting out valuable heat too, so think about if a whole-house sealing process would be a good option for you. Making sure that any heat you generate in your home can’t escape easily is the best way to enjoy a cosy winter.