Half of homes 'not well insulated'

21/06/11

Half Of Homes 'Not Well Insulated'

Nearly half of British homes are throwing away at least £100 a year in wasted energy payments by not having adequate insulation, according to new figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The figures show that only 57 per cent of the country's lofts have been properly insulated, while just 58 per cent of cavity walls have been filled.

Insulated lofts and cavity walls reduce energy leakage and cuts down bills, according to officials.

Under the Government's Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, a total of 3.5 million households are expected to insulate their homes with the help of energy firms by December 2012.

Under the new target, 479,000 homes have had insulation professionally installed so far.

Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne said: "At a time when money is tight and with energy prices predicted to rise, householders are missing out on over £100 of savings every single year by not getting their lofts lagged and cavity walls filled."