Cavity Wall Insulation

A brief overview of the ECO scheme and our role

The ECO Scheme helps to cut carbon emissions and reduce fuel poverty within the UK. The scheme obligates energy companies with more than 150,000 customers to offer energy efficient solutions to those who need it most. The number of measures the companies install all depends on their market share, meaning some smaller companies may have limited availability. However, British Gas, Eon, Octopus, Bulb and EDF are all a part of this scheme and will have more readily available accessibility.

The ECO scheme doesn’t permit consumers to only use or contact their own energy suppliers. Instead, there are smaller companies that work with these bigger energy suppliers to offer this grant and provide the surveying, installing and continued maintenance of the insulation and heating measures offered.

Eco Home Insulation works as a trusted fitter for these bigger energy companies. Our role involves checking your eligibility for funding, sending our trusted surveyors out to your home to see what measures are required, accessing the funding from the Government for these measures on your behalf, installing the necessary products and helping with any maintenance needed after.

Cavity Wall Insulation

There are many different types of insulation that are used within construction. Depending on the type, location and age of your property different methods will be applied, which are all predetermined by a surveyor. The Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) scheme incorporates 3 main types of insulation within its funding including loft, cavity wall and internal wall.

Most homes that were developed between 1920 – 1990 will have a gap between the internal and external walls of the property, known as a ‘cavity’. When this gap is filled with an insulating material, it ensures that the house is well insulated, meaning the warm air is kept in and the cold air is kept out.

Cavity wall insulation also reduces the speed at which warm air can escape from your property and in doing so means you won’t need to heat your home as regularly – saving you money! The Energy Saving Trust (EST) states that having your cavity walls insulated as opposed to uninsulated, can save you more than £280 per year on your heating costs.

However, not all homes are suitable for this type of insulation. Timber framed, metal clad, and stone properties do not typically require this type of insulation due to their lack of ‘cavity’ within the walls. It is also noted that if the walls within your home suffer from ‘cold wall syndrome’ [damp or cold walls within the interior of your home] then this issue will need to be addressed before the cavity wall insulation is installed. The external wall of your property needs to be in good order before we start this process, and we will of course advise should there be any issues impending the install.

How does it work?

If your property is deemed to be conventionally constructed (most properties post, but not limited to, 1920’s onwards) it is likely to have a cavity (gap/void) between the external and internal walls.

We use the Therma-bead system, which consists of the polystyrene beads being injected into the cavity wall via our unique injection gun into a small hole in either the external or internal skin of the property. As the beads are pumped in, they are mixed with a binding agent forming a homogenous mass that fills the cavity void in its entirety, resulting in a protective barrier that gives permanent reduction in the heat loss to your home.

All cavity wall insulation installs will benefit from a retrofit assessment, along with additional checks being sent to a chartered surveyor first – who will assess the property type prior to install. This pre-check takes things like the property construction, wall thickness and property location into consideration.

There are many factors which can affect the viability of cavity wall insulation and the insulation will not be installed unless the property meets all the necessary requirements. Upon completion, you will be issued with a 25 year, independent backed, quality assurance guarantee. If we were to ever cease trading, your guarantee will still be in effect.