Take the Advantage of Loft Insulation Grants
Loft insulation grants are part of the United Kingdom’s Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) that aims to reduce our carbon emissions by 2011. Loft insulation grants are funded by British Gas, Scottish Power, NPower, EON, Scottish and Southern Energy and a few more companies. Loft insulations play an integral role in keeping your home warm. If your house is well insulated, you use your heaters – which emit carbon – less. And because better insulation promotes energy efficiency, you can save much of your expenses for your energy bills.
Loft insulation grants are offered to domestic residences in the UK. If your house was built between 1924 and 1982, you have better chances of getting approved. Other criteria that will let you avail of loft insulation grants are: if your property is well maintained, your brickwork must be in good state, and your cavity must be 50mm wide at least. Your loft must also be installed by a certified local insulation installer, the installation must be from the floor up to the roof and the materials that were used should be proper.
Why you should seek loft insulation grants
A poorly insulated home can lose up to 60% of heat. In this regard, your heating and ventilation system work harder than they must. This results to inflated energy bills and supplementary carbon emissions. Moreover, a poorly insulated house has a lesser resale value than a properly insulated one. By installing loft insulators and cavity wall insulation, you make your hose more energy efficient. This way, your home will rank better in the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). It is important to note that the EPC is part of the Home Information Pack (HIP) which is important when purchasing a property.
The best place to apply for loft insulation grants is the internet. Earlier we mentioned the companies who provide the funding for CERT. The application process simply starts by visiting the government site or going to the pages of the financing companies and filing out the online application form. More specifically, you may go to the pages of the British Board of Agreement, Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency and The National Insulation Association. Taking the advantage of the loft insulation grants is a very good way of reducing your energy cost and making your home more environmentally friendly.
Before you apply for any loft insulation grants, you need to gather all of the information that will be required in an application. Use the above mentioned guidelines to help you collate this information, and keep it on file as you will need to reference it a lot while you are applying. It is worth doing the extra little bit of work initially so you can give yourself the optimal chance of securing a grant. Of course your home will need to meet the criteria, but if you have a well prepared application it can make the whole process a lot quicker
How much of the costs do loft insulation grants cover
Loft insulation grants may cover the total cost that you need to spend for installing your loft insulation. If you are a senior citizen, if you have enough tax credits or if you have been given certain kinds of benefits, you can get a 100 percent grant. For most of the citizens, loft insulation grants can cover from 40percent up to 70percent of the total installation costs. All homeowners may qualify for the grant which is typically 50 percent.
Insulation grants should have ended last year but the government decided to extend the program for one more year. By that, we must see the importance of saving energy and keeping the environment safe. Furthermore, it is projected that all insulation grants will end at 2015. Therefore, you have to make use of the loft insulation grants while they are still available within the remaining time.