Top 6 Architectural Tips to Improve the Energy Efficiency of your Home
The better your home insulation, the warmer it will be in winter and the cooler it will stay in the summer sun. Better insulation means cheaper energy bills and a reduction in carbon footprint. Effective home insulation is becoming a must have rather than optional.
Up to half of the heat in a house can escape through the roof, walls, windows and floor if a building is not insulated effectively. A ‘leaky’ house is not only very expensive to heat but it makes a home very hard to keep warm. Old buildings are particularly prone to “leakiness” due to lack of maintenance, material composition and restricted awareness of these concepts at the time of the original build.
Insulation is the equivalent of putting a big blanket around your house; the walls, roof, floor, windows and doors help to maintain the temperature inside at your desired level. This can be done at various levels from DIY to a full retrofit.
If you are looking for a quick fix, there are many short-term DIY measures that you can take to start saving energy. You can read this comprehensive guide to energy saving 101 by Warm and Well who have been giving free energy-saving advice in the Gloucestershire area for many years. You could also get an energy survey done which will help you to identify energy-saving opportunities. This will give you real-time information on how you can reduce your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint. One such survey is offered by local company Severn Wye.
Whilst the above will give you a good idea about what you can do in the short term, there are other architectural ways that can ensure a comfortable environment and save energy to a larger extent. These types of measures involve a certain level of initial investment that will pay off significantly over time. Here are our top 6 architectural tips to improve insulation and energy efficiency in your home.
- Invest in warmer floors
Materials like wood or carpet for flooring are warmer than concrete floors and tiles due to thermal conductivity and thermal mass. Underfloor heating can also help heat up the rooms.
2. Use thicker glass panes for insulation
Triple glazing provides better insulation. If you have large panes of glass for windows or doors, it might be worth switching to triple glazing for better insulation during winter and summer!
3. Consider the orientation of the sun when sitting in your house
Thinking about the sun path when sitting indoors can help maximise sunlight into the house during the day. Having windows orientated towards the South can increase sunlight in the UK and allows the house to be passively heated up. However, too many of these might result in overheating in the summer. Getting advice from an architect can help achieve the best outcome on this!
4. Consider wind direction when sitting in the house
While airflow enhances ventilation within the house, it is important to not place openings that allow constant and direct wind flow from the outside. This will make the house very chilly during winter.
5. Ceiling insulation
Choice of ceiling materials have a great impact on heat loss and heat gain. Ensuring the ceilings are well insulated without cold bridges also help insulate the house better.
6. Choice of walling material
Choosing materials that retain heat during the day and dissipate slowly when it gets cold, such as masonry and brick, can help keep the house warm. Having good insulation installed within wall layers is one of the most effective ways of insulating the house.
If you are considering investing in your home insulation with some of the above-mentioned points, it may be worth consulting an architect to achieve the best results. It’s always best to get accurate advice relating to your particular building, rather than blanket advice. Investing in your home now could save you a lot in terms of finance AND carbon footprint over time, so it is worth thinking about.
by Zoe Vong and Charlotte Armitage Ferrier
