Insulating Britain’s housing stock

At a high level insulation industry event held in August and attended by leading wall insulation companies and the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the National Insulation Association (NIA) and Solid Wall Insulation Guarantee Agency (SWIGA) set out their plans to work together and with their members in transforming the residential Solid Wall Insulation (SWI) market in support of the achievement of the government’s climate change and fuel poverty targets.

The NIA is the leading trade association for insulation including external and internal wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and draught proofing and its members include the major external and internal wall insulation companies. SWIGA has been established to develop associated industry quality and standards infrastructure for external and internal wall insulation, and a new independent guarantee for householders that will protect consumers when making the decision to fit SWI measures, which can be a major home improvement purchase.

The UK’s housing stock
The UK’s housing stock is estimated at approximately 24.5 million dwellings and of that, approximately 36 per cent are non-cavity wall construction – solid brick, solid stone, pre-1944 timber frame and non-traditional (i.e. concrete construction).

There are currently around seven million properties in the UK with solid walls which require either external (EWI) or internal wall insulation (IWI).

A senior official from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) who attended the event explained that around two million of these properties may need to be insulated by 2020 to meet the governments carbon emissions reduction target and that DECC was keen to work with the NIA and SWIGA to achieve this. He also explained how the government’s new Green Deal will make it easier for people to buy EWI and IWI by spreading the cost of the measures over a period of time.

Neil Marshall, chief executive of the National Insulation Association (NIA) said that there would need to be around a tenfold increase in the amount of EWI and IWI currently being undertaken to achieve this level. He explained that the industry was ready, willing and able to take up the challenge and that the NIA and SWIGA would be working with its members, government and other key stakeholders to significantly increase the industry capacity whilst ensuring that quality and standards are maintained. This includes the establishment of a new NIA/SWIGA/Stakeholder SWI Working Group to develop a coordinated delivery plan to transform the market.  

A boost for the industry
Derek Herrick’s, SWI representative from the NIA and SWIGA, commented: “The way forward for the industry is to consider both external and internal SWI when assessing a property as both solutions may be required for a whole house approach to insulation. This in itself is in line with the long term targets set by government.”

Greg Barker, Minister for Energy and Climate Change, said: “Our plans will give a huge boost to the insulation industry during the economic recovery as we pave the way for the start of the Green Deal. This groundbreaking legislation will allow us to offer consumers the ability to install energy efficiency measures in their homes without any upfront costs or payments. These would be paid back over time through savings on energy bills.”

As well as environmental benefits, the government’s Green Deal could support a quarter of a million jobs over the next 20 years, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has said. Were all 26 million households to take up the Green Deal over the next 20 years, employment in the sector would rise from its current level of 27,000 to something approaching 250,000, working all around the country to make our housing stock fit for a low carbon world.

Chris Huhne said: “The Green Deal is a massive new business opportunity which has the potential to support up to a quarter of a million jobs as part of our third industrial revolution. Insulation installers and the supply chain all stand to benefit from this long overdue energy makeover.

“Energy efficiency is a no brainer. We need to tap in to this huge market to save people money on fuel bills, save carbon and help the economic recovery.”

About the National Insulation Association
The National Insulation Association represents over 90 per cent of the UK’s home insulation industry, including installers and manufacturers. The NIA and its members are committed to providing a high quality, value for money service to householders, housing managers and developers. All of its members abide by the NIA Code of Professional Practice.

For more information
Tel: 01525 383 313
Web: www.nationalinsulationassociation.org.uk