The importance of insulation
“Insulation is easily the most important thing you can prioritise when it comes to spending money on reducing energy in an existing or new build home” – Jason Orme, June 2015 edition of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine. Here at Source Energy, we agree!
U-values & minimum insulation levels for New Build projects
Insulation is a very important element of your project to consider when choosing a heat pump solution for your home. For new build projects, there are required minimum insulation levels which give defined U-values as per the new build Part L 2013 Building Regulations:
- 13 W/m2 k for underfloor
- 18 W/m2 k for external walls
- 13 W/m2 k for flat ceilings
All materials have a U-value, measuring the rate of which energy (such as heat) passes through the material. Essentially, the lower the U-value is, the better the material will serve as an insulator.
The above figures are now standard for all new builds and therefore will be suitably insulated for a heat pump. However, when it comes to renovations, self-builders have more freedom in choosing how much time and money to invest into insulating their home.
Why is insulation critical to the efficiency of your heat pump?
Heat pumps run at much lower temperatures; this is what makes them so efficient. Therefore, if your property suffers from significant heat loss, the heat pump will have to work really hard to keep up with the heating demand of the property. This would result in the specification of a much larger (and more expensive) system with higher utility bills and overall inefficiencies.
There are many kinds of insulation. Most internal insulation comes with a ridged foam board like Kingspan, but there are also natural forms of insulation like mineral wools.
It’s worth researching each kind of insulation as some can be more expensive than others. Some varieties can create a vapour barrier, but this may compromise on the breathability.
Invest, Insulate, Repeat
Investing in insulation is an economical and ultimately smart move when organising your property budget, but whatever type you choose, use a lot of it, and then some more!
And that’s where we come in. We’re here to design the best possible heat pump solution for your property, and the degree to which you insulate will prove to be a crucial factor in determining a bespoke system for all of your heating and hot water requirements. Not only will good insulation decrease the capital costs of your heating system, it will ensure the system runs efficiently and reduce running costs.
Call 0800 865 4328 or request a free quote so one of our experts can start designing the best heat pump solution for your project.
