Insulation: it’s a trust game

I’ve just finished insulating our loft; a sweaty, tight-spaced, twisty-turny dust-in-the-air three-day discomfort fest. It reminded me of intense self development, it’s a trust game. You do the work and although the benefits aren’t always obvious, you know you’ve made a change.

Retrofitting is the process of making changes to a building so that energy consumption and emissions are reduced. Effectively, it’s a reduction of waste which should result in greater comfort, health and lower bills.

We’ve been on a mission to retrofit our home and business at Big Sky ever since we moved in. We discovered a lovely timber frame home which was strong and dry but needed some care and attention. In two years we’ve put solar panels on the roof and installed a battery bank, swapped out oil heating for an air source heat pump, bought a fully electric vehicle and, most importantly, we take advantage of our free solar electricity by waiting for sunny days for high-draw activities like washing clothes, batch-cooking in the electric over, and charging our EV and electric buggy. We’re considering a little trickle charger wind turbine to top up the batteries during those months when the sun is low.

On top of this we’ve made so many quiet promises as we’ve developed this new lifestyle, spend less and it takes some pressure off the earning, we trust that those saved pennies turn into pounds and go some way towards paying off our debt.

The obvious data-driven decisions are aided by the clear ins and outs of our electric usage, but these last few days up in the loft forced some thought about the benefits of insulation.

Everything mentioned above, they’re all actions taken to insulate ourselves to a degree, against rising energy prices, financial pressures, climate guilt, values compromises. The results are often slow but it all builds up.

It’s difficult to actively cost assess the benefits of adding another 170mm of insulation just above our home’s upper ceiling but not only do I feel better knowing that endless fluff is up there (I mean, it even looks cosy when you peek into the loft) but a simple hovering of a hand above the old, 70mm insulation and the new, now 240mm layer reveals a new warmth.

By layering up, the warmth stays in the home for longer. We don’t have to pump as much heat in as before, which I estimate will save us around £1-£1.50 per day throughout the winter months. We can work longer hours, bringing in more money, ideas and satisfaction, and not having to reach for the gloves and Selkbag as often.

And, a bonus…I now know how to insulate a loft.

Second bonus, I don’t have to do it again. Not in this place, anyway.