Let’s be honest, and there’s no good way to say this, if you don’t insulate your loft, you might as well stand on your doorstep every winter and throw out a couple of bundles of tenners.

It’s what our cousins across the Atlantic call a no brainer. No insulation, money wasted. And maybe no planet either, as you’re not doing your bit to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Loft insulation is one of the most efficient ways to save the heat escaping from your home.

Heat rises and when you have a house that effectively is not wearing a hat, it will escape into the sky without a thought about your bank balance.

It is estimated that over 25% of the heat your are generating can be lost through a loft that is not insulated. Just think about it, a quarter of the heat that is costing you a fortune to produce, is going straight out into the street.

You might remember one of the old Government advice advertisements which showed a row of houses during winter after heavy snow fall and posed the question, which one hadn’t got it’s roof insulated. The one without the layer of snow of course.

Heavy-handed maybe, but it made the point very well. If you don’t insulate your loft, then you’re paying to keep your road warm.

And the great thing, you can install loft insulation yourself. It is still a DIY job, although if you don’t fancy manoeuvring about in your loft, it’s best to call in a professional.

It’s recommended that you have insulation thats 270mm deep and most comes in rolls which can be spread about your loft like a large duvet. If you’re installing itself, remember to wear clothing that will protect your body, and you will also need a face mask and gloves.

Make sure the insulation is snugly fitted into the loft, between the joints at first, and then over them as well, using scissors to cut the material to size. Don’t push and squeeze it. The material is designed for optimum efficiency at the manufactured depth. And don’t cover any water tanks, or light fittings. If you need access to such things, make sure you have walk boards which go over the insulation, but which are properly fixed to the relevant joists. Also, if you have any exposed pipes up there, make sure they are lagged with the insulating tubes you can buy.

Right, lets have a look at some of the costs of loft insulation and the expected payback.

On average, they reckon that to insulate the average loft will cost in the region of between £250 and £300 (with some help from grants). That’s not a fortune. And the saving in heating bills is reckoned, in the first year, to be £205. So, you get payback in about one-and-a-half years. So over five years, you are saving yourself a lot of money.

And, another good thing, you’ll be saving around one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions per year. So, you’re saving both your wallet and the planet.

That’s just one house and someone has calculated that if everyone in the U.K. topped their roof insulation to 270mm, savings of over £700m would be made each year.

And one final point; when you decide that loft insulation is an inevitable step (even for those that need to increase their current depth to 270mm), bear in mind that there are many organisations out there who will provide financial assistance and grants. Much does depend on your circumstances, but a great deal of help is available.

Guest Article by Neil Camp