Not sure whether you need boards or batts? We explore the main types of home insulation, how to choose them and where to use them

female wearing blue polo shirt, yellow hard hard hat and gloves, inserting insulation into wall
Home insulation is essential in any self build or renovation project (Image credit: Authentic Images/Getty Images)

Whether you're self-building, renovating or extending, getting the right home insulation in place is an integral part of your plans.

As well as benefiting from the environmental rewards of good home insulation – and reduced energy bills – putting the right types in place is also a matter of legislation, with clear guidelines in place for the thermal performance of properties.

James Francis

James Francis is a Product Manger at Rockwool Ltd, a company that produces stone wool insulation suitable for thermal, acoustic and fire-resistant applications.

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Russell Smith

Russell Smith is the founder and Managing Director of Ecofurb, a service dedicated to providing impartial, personalised advice on home energy efficiency retrofits. 

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Building Regulation U Values

Element

U VALUES (W/m2K)

All roof types

0.13

External walls

0.18

Floors

0.13

Windows

1.4

Doors

1.4

Row 6 - Cell 0 Row 6 - Cell 1
Ian Rock
Ian Rock

Chartered surveyor Ian Rock MRICS is a director is Rightsurvey.co.uk and the author of eight popular Haynes House Manuals, including the Home Extension Manual, the Self Build Manual and Period Property Manual. Ian is also the founder of Zennor Consultants. In addition to providing house surveys, Zennor Consultants provide professional guidance on property refurbishment and maintenance as well as advising on the design and construction of home extensions and loft conversions, including planning and building regulations compliance.

Tim Pullen
Tim Pullen

Tim Pullen, an expert in sustainable building methods and energy efficiency in residential homes also wrote The Sustainable Building BibleSimply Sustainable Homes and Anaerobic Digestion - Making Biogas - Making Energy: The Earthscan Expert Guide. His interest in renewable energy and sustainability was first inspired by visits to the Royal Festival Hall heat pump and the Edmonton heat-from-waste projects. He formally ran energy efficiency consultancy WeatherWorks and was a speaker and expert at the Homebuilding & Renovating Shows across the country.

Tim is an expert in sustainable building methods and energy efficiency in residential homes and writes on the subject for magazines and national newspapers. He is the author of The Sustainable Building Bible, Simply Sustainable Homes and Anaerobic Digestion - Making Biogas - Making Energy: The Earthscan Expert Guide.

His interest in renewable energy and sustainability was first inspired by visits to the Royal Festival Hall heat pump and the Edmonton heat-from-waste projects. In 1979

this initial burst of enthusiasm lead to him trying (and failing) to build a biogas digester to convert pig manure into fuel, at a Kent oast-house, his first conversion project.

Moving in 2002 to a small-holding in South Wales, providing as it did access to a wider range of natural resources, fanned his enthusiasm for sustainability. He went on to install renewable technology at the property, including biomass boiler and wind turbine.

He formally ran energy efficiency consultancy WeatherWorks and was a speaker and expert at the Homebuilding & Renovating Shows across the country.