The Hotspot insulation offer is still running - everyone in Portobello should have received a letter offering reduced price loft and cavity wall insulation, through the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre.
We have had several successful installations in houses and tenements across Portobello, and we’re sure it’s helping lots of people to stay warm in this icy weather.
Insulation can help to save lots of money on your bills, as well as reducing the carbon emissions from your home.
We hope as many folk as possible will take up this one-off deal. Insulation is free for those in receipt of certain benefits.Just call 0800 512 012 to arrange a free no-obligation survey for loft or cavity wall insulation.
The Hotspot insulation scheme uses accredited installers and is run by PEDAL in partnership with ESSac.
Here are some guide prices…
3 bedroom house - Cavity Wall Insulation 129* loft insulation £149 — £179*
2 – 3 bedroom tenement flat — Loft Insulation £149 — £269*
*Prices are subject to technical survey.
A third of all the heat lost in an un-insulated home is through the walls, and around a quarter goes through the roof. So cavity wall and loft insulation are effective ways to save both energy and money at home. For example, if your home has cavity walls, insulating them could save on average around £115 a year on your fuel bills.
If you live in a tenement, or if your home can’t take loft or cavity wall insulation, please contact us for advice on other ways you can do to save money and energy. For more information please contact our Energy Worker, Charlotte Bickmore, at charlotte [at] pedal-porty [dot] org [dot] uk or on 0131 258 4483.
Insulation is only effective if it stops air exchange in and out of the house as well (infiltration/exfiltration) or is paired with air-sealing strategies. Most of the heat lost from older homes in the winter goes out through small gaps and cracks in the building enclosure, and cold outside air gets sucked in at the foundation — this is the ‘stack’ effect — or how a chimney operates, and it requires the heating system to re-heat the air. An air-tight home must also have good mechanical ventilation, of course, to swap an appropriate amount of air (ASHRAE 62.2 residential ventilation standard –US) to exhaust contaminants and odors and bring in fresh air, but much more energy can be saved than is spent on running the ventilation system. I love insulation, but it can be a waste if air sealing is not also done.
Hi Mark, thanks for your comment. We would certainly advise people to draughtproof their homes as thoroughly as possible if they can, especially in an older property. The Hotspot offer that we are promoting is mainly for loft and cavity wall insulation, and is affordable to most people and in some cases free. Unfortunately there are only limited offers at the moment for draughtproofing (if you are in receipt of certain benefits or over 70 you may qualify), and none for ventilation systems. With this offer we are hoping to promote the most affordable ways for people to keep their homes warmer and reduce their carbon emissions, however, we would like to look further into hard-to-treat properties and what can be done to insulate them.