How to insulate a period home

If you're living in a period cottage you may love the character but find the fuel bills daunting. What can be done to reduce energy bills without damaging the building?

- ALISON WALL

In this new series, we look at how you can make the home that you live in more energy efficient. We know this is a big topic for homeowners; it is one of the most asked questions at our Homebuilding & Renovating shows, especially in light of the dramatic increase in energy bills, and our desire to live in a comfortable home now, and in the future. But how can you make an existing home more energy efficient? What will work for one style of home won't necessarily work for another so we've split this series into architectural periods, from the cottage to a 1960s home and others in between. We look at the specific ways to deal with and accommodate the age of the building and type of construction when retrofitting insulation and other energy efficiency measures. And budget: we've broken this down into categories - from what you can do with a modest £200, such as draughtproofing, right up to £20,000 plus, where you can start to look into wall insulation and solar panels - so there's something for everyone, at whatever stage or budget you have.

FIRST STEPS

The first part of this new series focuses on the period cottage that has, for this article's sake, electric storage heating. "The crucial thing is: what is the period building made of?" says Marianne Suhr, a chartered building surveyor and historic buildings expert specializing in old homes.

"If it's a historic timber frame with very thin walls and lots of gaps then you will need specialist advice, as anything you do to that building could affect the moisture content of the frame and cause damage. It's also important to make sure your building is dry, as heat loss is far quicker through a damp wall than it is through a drywall."

Thankfully, there's plenty that can be done to make a period home warmer and more energy efficient.