Cavity Wall Cash Back

As previously stated in my rants I am installing cavity wall insulation to my home. Each year I spend about £600 a year in heating costs alone, this is above average, and is weighing on my own and my household carbon footprint. After contacting the Energy Saving Trust for further information on grants available, I was told that currently they are running a cashback scheme. Those that have cavity wall insulation installed by a CIGA qualified installer can recieve a grant of £150, and if you have an uninsulated loft you can claim an extra £75 towards the cost of loft insulation. If you are on certain benefits you can recoup up to 100% of the cost, so it has never been a better time to have it installed.

In addition to the EST grants, in most areas of the UK, grants are available to households where any person living in the house is in receipt of certain benefits, credits or allowances. This is known as 'Priority Group Funding' because the government and utility companies consider these householders to be a priority. Qualifying benefits include:

* Attendance Allowance
* Income Support
* Council Tax Benefit
* Disability Living Allowance
* Housing Benefit
* Child Tax Credit (household income under £15,050)
* Working Tax Credit (household income under £15,050)
* Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
* Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance
* War Disablement Benefit
* Pension Credit

In some areas, 100% grants are also available to the over 60s and households where there are children under the age of 16.

For more information on how to claim up to 100% of the cost of installation visit Free Insulation.

Cavity wall insulation will help prevent the 25% - 40% of heat in a building lost through uninsulated walls. The potential savings is about £130 - £160 on your annual heating bills and up to 1 tonne of Co2 a year. The cost of installation should be recouped in less than 2 years. Loft insulation will help prevent 25% of heat in a building lost through an uninsulated loft. The potential savings is about £180 - £220 on your annual heating bills and up to 2 tonnes of Co2 a year. Overall if all the homes in the UK that are uninsulated at the moment were insulated the annual savings would be equivalent to £2.5 billion and 14.3 million tonnes of Co2 emissions annually.

Grab those grants whilst they last ...

Steps To Installing Insulation with a Grant

1. Visit the Energy Saving Trust and use the online grants finder
2. Visit CIGA, and find a qualified local installer
3. Call CIGA registered installers to arrange quotes
4. Call the Energy Savings Trust on 0800 512 012 to obtain reference code to begin installation
5. Call your chosen installer and give them the reference code, arrange a time for installation
6. Install product and pay full installation cost
7. Receive invoice from CIGA installer and forward to the Energy Saving Trust with claim form
8. Form will be processed and you should receive your cashback in three weeks

Tips when Choosing and Installer

• Ensure what you are getting there are many types of insulation used, at the moment the standard is bonded bead, this is available in white and graphite, the graphite is 20% more effective, and slightly more expensive.
• Ask whether they will install ventilation guards, many installers will not mention this, it is essential that these are installed to prevent beads from blocking the vents, this can lead to advanced rotting in floor boards.
• Ensure the company are CIGA registered, check their site and look for the logo
  

I will be having my cavity wall insulation installed on Thursday and will update you on the progress with photos and more details.