Building fabric and energy efficiency

This following information provides practical guidance on enhancing the energy efficiency of homes, community spaces, and business premises. Whether you're looking to reduce your carbon footprint or cut down on energy costs, you'll find a range of building fabric and efficiency options to consider.

In 2019, carbon emissions from buildings accounted for 17% of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions, due to the burning of fossil fuels for heating and cooking, as well as electricity for powering our appliances.

Upgrading a building's fabric is one of the most effective ways to improve energy efficiency and should be prioritised before installing other energy or carbon-saving technologies. For example, both ground source and air source heat pumps require a good level of insulation to be viable. Similarly, improving the insulation of a building will usually have a much greater impact on energy bills and carbon savings than installing energy efficient appliances.

Much of the information in the links below is targeted at homes, but the same solutions can be applied to any building.

The following pages contain some useful general information about energy efficiency:

Improve our buildings to help reach net zero - Energy Saving Trust

Energy Saving Tips | How To Reduce Bills - MoneySuperMarket

Insulation

Cavity wall insulation

This method is used to reduce heat loss in homes and other buildings with cavity walls. These walls consist of two layers with a gap in between which can be injected with material, such as mineral wool, to improve energy efficiency by reducing the heating and cooling requirements of a building.

It can prevent up to a third of the heat loss in an uninsulated home or building, helping lower energy bills and reducing carbon emissions by decreasing the need for heating. It is important to remember that it may not be suitable for some build types.

The following provide more information about the benefits of cavity wall insulation:

How to install cavity wall insulation - Energy Saving Trust

Cavity Wall Insulation - What is it?

Solid wall insulation

For buildings without a cavity wall, solid wall insulation is an alternative option to improve energy efficiency. Solid walls can be insulated internally or externally, with internal insulation involving insulation boards or a stud wall filled with insulating material. External insulation involves fixing a layer of insulating material to the wall and covering it with plasterwork or cladding.

Like cavity wall insulation, this can help prevent heat loss, resulting in lower energy bills and carbon footprints through decreasing the heating requirements of the building.

The following provides information about the benefits of solid wall insulation:

Advice on insulating your solid walls - Energy Saving Trust

Solid wall insulation - internal - Centre for Sustainable Energy

Roof or loft insulation

In an uninsulated home or building, up to 25% of heat can be lost through the roof. By insulating the loft or roof, you can significantly improve your energy efficiency.

The benefits of insulating a roof or loft are substantial, helping lower the heating required in winter, and cooling that may be needed in summer. This is typically a cost effective way to improve your buildings energy efficiency, saving you money and lowering your carbon footprint.

The following links provide some more information:

Roof and loft insulation guide - Energy Saving Trust

How much energy does loft insulation save? - MoneySuperMarket

Draught proofing

This is one of the most cost effective ways to save energy and money, suitable for most buildings. Blocking gaps that can let cold air in helps keep your building warmer and can be done using affordable draught proofing strips found in many supermarkets or online.

If you have a larger building, it may be worth looking into professional draught proofing, which will cost more than doing it yourself, but can ensure that you will make greater savings on your energy bills as the professionals will use the right materials in the right places.

Windows and doors

Energy efficient windows and doors are crucial for reducing heat loss and lowering energy bills. Double or triple glazing are common options now, helping keep the heat in and having the added benefit of reducing external noise, and reducing cold spots helping lower the heating needs of your building.

There can be a substantial cost involved in this, but the savings in terms of energy bills and carbon emissions can make it worthwhile.

The following link provides more information:

Energy efficient windows and doors - Energy Saving Trust

Energy efficient appliances

When buying electrical appliances, look at their energy labels. Appliances have a rating from A to G, with A being the most efficient, and G being the least. These ratings are dependent on the size of the appliance, a large dishwasher with an A label could use more electricity than a small dishwasher with a G rating. It is best to choose the size of the appliance you need, and then consider the energy label, instead of searching for the best energy label alone.

More efficient appliances use less electricity compared to lower rated ones, which means that you will make savings on your energy bills and help lower your carbon footprint.

You shouldn't replace all appliances in your home for energy efficient ones, as this increases waste - wait until you need to replace them to avoid waste and environmental impact of the creation of the items.

Useful links:

Choosing energy efficient appliances - Energy Saving Trust

LED lights

If you replace all the bulbs in your building with LED lights, you could make savings on your energy bill and lower your carbon footprint as LED's are a more efficient light source than older halogen bulbs, requiring around 95% less electricity.

Each halogen bulb replaced with an LED could save you between £3-4 a year, which all adds up, especially for larger buildings.

Turn off appliances when not in use

Turning off appliances at the plug when you're not using an appliance can help you reduce your energy bill and CO2e emissions.

A home in England can save up to £45 a year and you could reduce your carbon footprint by as much as 45kgCO2 just by switching off appliances when they are not in use.

Similarly, turning off lights when you're not using them can lead to savings in your energy bill and carbon emissions. For a home this can save around £7 per year, but for larger buildings or businesses this could be much greater.

Building fabric and energy efficiency

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