Home Improvements for Home Owners

As a home owner you can consider a whole range of improvements to make your home more energy efficient - and reduce your bills as a result.

As a starting point complete an online Home Energy Check to find out about the types of energy saving measures you can consider. Check whether you are eligible for a grant to help with any of these and get advice about whether they would be suitable for your property. More details of the most common home improvements are given below.

Remember that making small changes can also help to reduce your bills so, while you're considering home improvements, click here for tips to save money in the meantime.

Insulation

There are a number of ways of insulating your home, some of which are cheap and easy to install and and include measures that you might not even think about - such as draught proofing your loft hatch and filling gaps in floorboards and skirting boards. It is suprising how much warmer your home will feel.

Other measures have to be installed by experts but you can shop around to find the best products and cheapest deals.

The main measures insulation measures are:

Replacement windows
Draught proofing
Hot water tank & pipe insulation
Loft insulation
Wall insulation
Floor insulation

All of these can help to reduce your energy bills - so click here for more information

Generating your own energy

There are a number of ways to generate your own energy. Not all of these are likely to be suitable for your property so use the Energy Saving Trust's Home Energy Generation Selector Tool to find out about your options.

Central heating

Heating bills can be high especially in winter months. Many households still have older boilers which use more energy than the newer energy-efficient models, or over-heat rooms that are not often used because radiator or room thermostats have not been installed.

Grants are often available to upgrade boilers and heating systems so click here to find out more.