AROUND 20,000 homes in the Isle of Man are wasting huge amounts of money because there is no insulation in the cavity walls, or the insulation already fitted is not good enough.
Research suggests that the Isle of Man is still well behind most of the rest of Britain in terms of the percentage of properties which have insulation inside cavity walls and that there are also some misconceptions regarding the best methods of insulating a building.
“Cavity wall insulation is the single biggest saving anyone will ever make, but it’s a fact that very few people are aware of,” said Peter Gray of Island Insulation which uses state-of-the-art technology based in Foxdale.
He said that the biggest energy saving decision that anyone can make regarding their house is to take advantage of the new technology in insulation for cavity walls. Statistics show that there are thought to be in the region of 20,000 homes in the Isle of Man which have been built with cavity walls, but which have no insulation, or have very poor insulation such as polystyrene sheets.
Research shows that 35% of the heat in a house is lost through walls, but only 25% goes through the loft and as little as 10% is lost through not having double glazing.
Peter Gray said that the majority of people appear to think that loft insulation and fitting double glazing were the two major sources of wasted energy, but the industry accepted statistics show that it’s cavity walls which are to blame for most heat loss in a property.
Island Insulation concentrates on two specific products - Super Silver bonded beads for cavity walls and Bio Foam spray insulation for lofts, timber frame construction and commercial buildings such as industrial units and warehouses.
Up to 25 years ago there was no legislation at all in place which stipulated any degree of insulation. The original insulation technology in the mid to late 1980s centred chiefly around thermalite blocks, glass fibre, polystyrene sheets and high density board which were installed with only limited success in most instances.
Today’s insulation is far more advanced and provides massively improved efficiency. But, surprisingly, the technology which is considered almost brand new in the Isle of Man has actually been around for a long time - up to 20 years. It’s simply that the Island has been slow catching up.
“The beads are coated with an air-drying adhesive as they are sprayed into the cavity, which ensures that every gap is filled. The adhesive then sets, forming the beads into a homogeneous heat-saving mass which will not shrink, crack, settle or be unduly affected by the removal of any of the outer brickwork for alterations or window replacements.”
The technology is now accepted as the most efficient method of insulting a building and has been officially rated by industry standards as the most cost-efficient way of saving money on heating costs.
Numerous insulation systems have been in existence for many years but today’s knowledge and scientific evidence shows that some of the well known ways of keeping heat in your home and preventing heat escaping are nowhere near as efficient as originally thought.
The insulation of a property is very much in the arena of “new technology”. Not that long ago - only a few years in fact - many builders in the Isle of Man didn’t fully understand the benefits of insulation in cavity walls and roof spaces. Even accepted regulation building standards a couple of decades ago didn’t give one second’s thought to the idea of including “new insulation ideas” which were, at that time, pretty expensive, to say the least.
Today, the result for the Isle of Man is that there are thousands and thousands of homes which have been built in the last 30-40 years which are almost completely lacking in any form of insulation and huge sums of money are being wasted every day in lost energy.
“If your house still feels cold, even with the central heating burning at full blast, then the most likely reason is that the walls don’t have the right type of insulation and maybe no insulation at all,” said Peter Gray.
“The technology is changing all the time,” he added. “Standards which were acceptable only a few years ago are now not good enough because the materials used were just not capable of providing truly efficient insulation and making a real difference to the temperature inside a property.
“Today, especially with everyone being more cost-conscious and definitely more aware of new technology, we all want to make an initial investment which will produce real results and make genuine financial savings - otherwise what would be the point of spending the money in the first place?”
He said that the current insulation technology was the result of many years of scientific research and the efficiency and tangible benefits had been “nothing short of fantastic.”
“There have been any number of new ideas over the years to reduce energy loss and improve heat retention, but most had achieved very limited success and even the ones which were initially thought to be effective were actually not producing the results which had been predicted.
“The bottom line is that if you spend money on improving insulation then you have got to see the results in the invoices you receive from the utility companies. Some savings have been achieved in the past, but today the benefits are far bigger because the technology has moved forward so quickly.”
The Super Silver bonded beads installed by Island Insulation are actually manufactured at the company’s headquarters where the slick ultra modern machinery can be found hiding in the Foxdale Industrial Estate.
It’s the only unit in existence in the Isle of Man and the investment has been considerable, but Peter Gray has done his research and is finding that more and more people in the construction industry have become aware of the greater efficiency of the beads for cavity walls - and also the enormous potential for the future.
Bio Foam spray insulation is an ultra lightweight product which comes in different densities to suit different applications, ranging from domestic lofts to large commercial warehouses and even for marine requirements.
It insulates and seals gaps in one application and has excellent thermal and acoustic properties, staying firmly in place, preventing drafts and cold spots without creating condensation. The different densities mean it can be used on all sorts of materials, including concrete, slates, tiles and even steel structures. The result is a considerable reduction in heating costs.
Island Insulation provides both Super Silver bonded beads and Bio Foam for the local construction industry and has its own fitting and installation service which is expanding quickly.
For further information click here.
Peter Gray 880782 • 493672 • petergray@manx.net
