Tips for Improving the Energy Rating of your Property
Insulation
Walls account for 25-30% of heat lost in a property. The roof accounts for 30-35% of heat lost. Improving insulation in these areas has a direct impact on the BER rating.
There are 3 types of wall insulation: Cavity , Internal and External Insulation.
Cavity wall insulation is the quickest and cheapest and requires that a contractor drills a series of holes in your cavity wall and pump an insulating material into the cavity in the external wall of the property.
If the property does not have a cavity wall it can be insulated on the internal or external side of the external wall. This is normally more time consuming and expensive.
Roof attic spaces can be insulated by laying rolls of fibre quilt or by blowing cellulose fibre up to joist level and above.
Roof and wall insulation grants are available as part of SEI's Home Energy Savings Scheme (here).
Hot Water Cylinder
One of the quickest and simplest ways to save energy in your property is to insulate the hot water cylinder and pipes. Hot water will stay hot for longer and you will save money on heating by fitting a lagging jacket. An 80mm jacket can cut heat loss by 75% and could pay for itself in a few months. If the cylinder is already insulated by less than 75mm it is worth getting a new one.
If you need to replace your cylinder, choose one with a preformed foam insulation jacket. It is more efficient and less bulky than a separate jacket.
Lighting
One of the easiest ways of improving your BER is to replace all of your standard light bulbs with low energy light fittings. Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are available for all standard fittings. Halogen downlighters can be replaced by LED lamps but you will need to check that your system is wired up to accept them.
While low energy fittings are currently more expensive than standard versions they provide real improvements in energy consumption and do tend to last longer than standard fittings.
Windows
Windows account for 15% of heat lost from a property.
If you are replacing your windows you should ensure that the new ones are double-glazed with at least a 12mm gap filled with Argon. They should also have a low emissivity (Low-e) coating which reduces the amount of heat lost through them.
According to SEI, a 12mm Argon filled double glazed window with Low-e coating reduces energy loss by 75% compared with a single glazed equivalent.
Triple-glazing provides improved energy savings but is appreciably more expensive than double glazing.
Space Heating/Boiler
Heating and Boiler efficiency has a major impact on the BER achieved by the property.
SEI estimate that if your boiler is 15 years old it would have an efficiency of approx 80% when new. After 15 years of use this would have fallen to 70%. Even less if it has not been maintained regularly. Modern boilers can have efficiencies of 90% .
Swapping an old boiler for new can realise efficiency improvements of over 20%. This would have a definite impact on the BER rating.
Check out the SEI website for boiler types and their efficiencies here.
Boiler Improvement grants are available as part of SEI's Home Energy Savings Scheme (here).
Heating Controls
Heating control systems have a big impact on the efficiency of the overall heating system and directly impacts on the BER rating.
You could have a highly efficient boiler but if it is heating at the wrong times, in the wrong locations and heating water that has already reached its target temperature the effectiveness of the system is diminished.
There are a number of heating control types on the market and the one you chose depends on your requirements. As a minimum Control Systems should be timed and have thermostats that turn off the boiler when the room or water temperature has reached the required temperature. They can also split your property into zones (e.g. bedrooms and living rooms) that can be controlled separately so that different areas are heated at different times.
Heating Control System grants are available as part of SEI's Home Energy Savings Scheme (here).
Solar Water Heating
This is a system that uses direct and indirect sunlight to produce hot water and/or space heating. According to SEI, a 4 sq. metre collector can produce 80% of hot water requirements in the summer and 20% in winter.
Installation of this type of system will improve the BER rating for the property.
There are grants for installing Solar Water Heating systems are available through SEI's Greener Homes Scheme (here).
Home Energy Savings Scheme Grants
