How to... insulate your walls

One of the easiest ways to save on energy is to ensure you have adequate insulation. Heat rises, so the loft should be your first priority - but after that is taken care of it's important to make sure your walls aren't leaking your precious heat into the neighbourhood. According to the Energy Saving Trust, this can amount to up to a third of your total heating bill!

Cavity walls
The most common method of insulating your walls is to fill the cavity between your inner and outer brick wall with some form of insulating material, usually either fibreglass or cellulose. The process itself is simple, and involves the installers drilling small holes through your external walls and filling the cavities through these holes.

The whole process should only take a few hours, and once done it won't need to be re-done under normal circumstances.

How do you tell if you have cavity walls? One simple way is just to knock on the wall - if it sounds "hollow" then you probably have cavities. You can also often tell from the pattern of brickwork on your outside wall, as cavity walls tend to have only the "long" face of the bricks on display, while solid walls have a pattern which alternates between long and short faces.

What if my walls are solid?
If you have solid walls, you will be losing even more heat through them than with cavities. To insulate a solid wall, you need to have a weather proof layer of insulation added to the outside of your wall. It's expensive to fit, but you can save as much as £300 per year*.

Whatever kind of insulation you need, you may be eligible for a subsidy - it can even be free to customers on some government benefits. To find out more click here. Even if you're not eligible for free insulation, you may be able to get a rebate of up to £100 from your local council**, saving you more money!