With energy prices across the UK set to soar, Chancellor Sunak’s Spring Statement and its seemingly incremental tax revisions will offer little solace to those wondering how on Earth they’ll be able to afford to properly heat their homes after April 1st. 

“Family finances are at breaking point”, says Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis, and it’s no wonder – with inflation at its highest level in 30 years (some 6.2%) and set to climb even higher, the cost of living is spiralling upwards. Worse, there is little that anyone can do about it because, as the Metro put it, the “cost of living is so high even Martin Lewis has run out of advice”.

So… where do we go from here? 

What can you do on a measurable level to cut your heating bills? The logical answer is to invest in improving the insulation in your home to cut the amount of energy your household uses.

Reduce energy bills by minimising heat loss 

With insulation, it’s possible to keep your home warmer for longer, without having to touch that radiator dial, fiddle with the thermostat, or fork out more money to your energy provider. In fact, it’ll allow you to turn your heating down.

Bulky and increasingly ineffective, traditional methods of insulation in UK homes tend to haemorrhage heat. Aside from often needing to be professionally installed to avoid the risks of inhaling any airborne particles, they’re also unwieldy and suck up space in your loft cavity that could be put to better use – all the while, leaking incremental heat outdoors. Heat which will now cost you more than ever before to enjoy once the energy cap rises in a few day’s time (and again in October).

Foam, fibreglass wool, mineral wool or PIR are all effective insulation solutions, but these all consist of a single material – limiting their ability to trap and recirculate heat around your home and they have their limitations in terms of useability. The solution may be one you haven’t heard of: multifoil insulation.

How can multifoil insulation save you money?

With a minimum thickness of 30mm, multifoil insulation is not only incredibly lightweight and easy to install – but it also has robust thermal insulating properties, with an R-value of up to 3.47 when in roofs, 3.91 in walls and 5.22 beneath flooring. 

It’s incredibly lightweight and flexible, allowing it to easily conform to non-standard shapes (such as curved walls), and as an added benefit, you can quickly and easily install it yourself – saving on labour costs. 

Its unique composition of layers of wadding encapsulated between aluminium foil sheeting acts to both insulate and reflect radiant heat. The result gives you optimal resistance to heat loss or gain – giving you a warm abode during the winter by reflecting and redirecting excess heat back inside your property, and doing the opposite in summer – keeping rising heat locked outside your home and minimising the costs of air conditioning and electric fans.

How much could insulation save you?

With the VAT reduced on insulation from April 1 to zero, there’s never been a better time to invest in good insulation.

We calculate that insulating a 200sqm roof with multi-foil would save you £50 to £100 per month during the winter and cost under £2,000 for materials (and you may be able to fit it yourself to avoid hiring a professional installer). This means it should have paid for itself after 5 years, having an immediate impact on your heating bills.

Better yet, the product has a lifespan of over 50 years, saving you a total of £13,000 in heating costs over that time (based on current prices) – and further savings can be made by improving insulation in walls, floors and around pipework, as well as through simple steps like fitting radiator reflectors to boost their performance and reduce heat loss further.

Experts are divided on how long the cost of energy will keep rising, but there is widespread agreement that the true solution is to reduce our reliance on oil and gas heating. While renewable energy production is a major part in that, insulation and energy efficiency is too – and this is something many of us can invest in right now.

Whatever energy provider you’re currently with and whatever tariff you’re on, upgrading your insulation could pay dividends when it comes to cutting the cost of your rising heating bill.

Our product range is available from our website and also from selected retailers across the country, including Aldi.  Get in touch to find out how.