Loft Insulation: Cost, Grants, the Right Depth and DIY Options
What loft insulation costs in the UK, which grants still pay for it, the 270mm depth rule, and when DIY makes sense — with real installer prices.
Field report index
Home Energy Guides: Every Report on This Site
Six guides, one method: installed cost, annual saving, and the grant that applies — checked against 2026 prices and the schemes that actually exist.
Insulation
Fabric first is the whole strategy in two words. Loft insulation is the cheapest heat a UK house will ever keep — a day's work with a two-to-four-year payback — and filled cavity walls come second, cutting around a third of a typical home's heat loss for four figures. These guides cover installed costs from real 2026 quotes, the Warm Homes Plan funding that replaced ECO4 and GBIS, the 270mm depth rule, the damp problems that give cavity fill its reputation and which walls they actually affect.
Cavity Wall Insulation: Cost, the Problems to Check For, and the Grants That Still Pay
What cavity wall insulation costs, the damp problems that give it a bad name (and which houses they affect), plus the grants that still fund it.
Heat pumps
A heat pump is the biggest single decarbonisation step a gas-heated house can take, and the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme has made the capital cost a fair fight with a premium boiler swap. The catch is that heat pumps reward preparation: an insulated house needs a smaller unit, bigger radiators matter more than brand, and running costs turn on flow temperature. This guide covers cost after the grant, how the technology works, and what a competent installation involves.
Air Source Heat Pump Guide: Cost After Grants, How It Works and What Installation Involves
What an air source heat pump costs after the £7,500 grant, how it works, what installation involves, and the running-cost maths against a gas boiler.
EPC & ratings
The EPC is where energy efficiency meets paperwork — and money. Buyers negotiate on it, landlords have legal minimums riding on it, and most funded-upgrade schemes qualify households through it. At 25,000 searches a month it is also the most misunderstood document in UK housing. These guides explain how the bands are scored, the cheapest points on the certificate, the landlord rules as they stand in 2026, and how smart heating controls earn their place both on the EPC and on the actual bill.
Smart Thermostat Guide: How Much You Save Money, the Best Options for UK Systems and What Installation Involves
Whether a smart thermostat really saves money, which models suit UK heating systems best, and what installation involves — with realistic saving figures.
EPC Rating Explained: How to Check Yours, Improve It, Understand the Bands and Meet Landlord Rules
How to check your EPC rating free, what the bands actually measure, the cheapest ways to improve a score, and the rules landlords face on EPC C.
Solar
Solar is the one measure that generates rather than saves — which changes the maths entirely. Zero-rated VAT until March 2027, hardware prices at historic lows and Smart Export Guarantee tariffs worth £150–£300 a year have pulled payback under a decade for most unshaded roofs. The guide covers installed prices by system size, the output a UK roof really produces month by month, and how to run the worth-it calculation for your own usage pattern.
Solar Panels in the UK: Cost Installed, Real-World Output, Grants and Whether They're Worth It
What solar panels cost installed in the UK, the output you can actually expect, which grants and export payments apply, and when they're worth it.
Using the guides: common questions
Which guide should I start with?
The loft insulation guide. It is the cheapest measure with the fastest payback, and every other decision — heat pump sizing, EPC score, even solar economics — gets easier once the fabric basics are done.
Where do the cost figures come from?
Installed prices are cross-checked against 2026 installer quotes and Energy Saving Trust figures for a typical semi-detached house. Each guide states its assumptions next to the numbers, so you can adjust for your own property.
Which grants do the guides cover?
The Warm Homes Plan for insulation, the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme for heat pumps, zero-rated VAT on solar until March 2027, and the Smart Export Guarantee for exported electricity — including who qualifies and how the money is paid.
Do the guides apply outside England?
Costs and physics travel; the funding differs. Scotland runs Home Energy Scotland grants and loans, Wales has the Nest scheme, and Northern Ireland has NISEP — each guide flags where a scheme is England-and-Wales only.
Looking for the historical material?
The documents of the original Regions 202020 / ENNEREG European programme — regional case studies, newsletters and events from 2010–2014 — live in the project archive.