Fabric first
What is fabric first?
Fabric first looks at the makeup of your building to ensure it can perform at its best before you start putting new, expensive technology into it. It looks at the windows, doors, roofs, walls and flooring, the fabric of your building.
Reviewing your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is usually the best way to start. For more information on EPCs, check out our blog here. You can also see if your home has a current EPC and review it if it does here:
The fabric first approach can help you plug the ‘leaky’ parts of your home, the parts where heat can escape easily. It can be as simple as installing loft insulation in your attic or rendering an outside wall, but it can also get a bit more complicated.
Benefits to having a more energy efficient home
Protect your home from heat loss
Save money on your heating bill
Lower your carbon footprint
Plugging the leaky parts of your home and insulating floors and walls will help to keep hot air in, and cold air out (this is the UK after all!). It also means that you will keep the moisture in your home as well. Some moisture is good and there should be a healthy balance, but too much can lead to mould, damp and condensation. too little can lead to a dry, uncomfortable home. This is why it’s so important to also look at the appropriate ventilation when carrying out fabric first renovations. Your retrofit specialist can help you with finding the right ventilation system for your home.
Common fabric first work
This list is not exhaustive…
Ground floor insulation
Insulating a floor means adding material beneath the floorboards, thereby reducing heat escaping through the floor into the ground. Around 15% of heat is lost from a house this way. Insulation also acts to prevent draughts coming up through the floorboards. This is particularly good for older houses where floorboards are more likely to be found.
Solid wall insulation
If your house was built before the 1930s, the chances are that it will have solid walls – simply a solid layer of masonry bricks. Insulating your walls – regardless of what they are made of, is a great way to make your home more energy efficient. The insulation will reduce heat loss in the winter, saving you money on your heating bills. It will also stop your home getting too warm in the summer, helping to keep your home at a more comfortable temperature.
If your home was built before the 1920s, its external walls are probably solid walls rather than cavity walls. Cavity walls are made of two layers with a small gap or ‘cavity’ between them, these can be filled with cavity wall insulation. Solid walls have no gap, so they can’t be filled with cavity wall insulation but they can be insulated – either from the inside or the outside. This will cost more than insulating a standard cavity wall, but the savings on your heating bills will be bigger too.
Insulation to external walls - Rendering
External wall insulation is a method of insulating the outside walls of a building. This involves applying insulation panels directly to the walls of a building and finishing the panels with a rendering system to provide protection from impact and weather.
Internal wall insulation
This is a great option in solid wall properties where outside insulation is not practical or allowed; for example in listed buildings, conservation areas, where you wish to preserve the look of the building, where access restricts external work, or in flats.
Double/Triple Glazing
Around 18% of the heat that is lost from buildings occurs through windows. This means that tackling this area of the property will stop heating from escaping.
Heat will escape through a single-glazing window at twice the speed that it will go through even standard double-glazing.
Loft insulation
Loft insulation could reduce your energy bills, depending on your home. The payback time is short if you started out with no loft insulation. Homes with existing loft insulation can save money by increasing the amount of insulation.
Of course, it’s cheaper to buy the insulation and fit it yourself. Some energy suppliers still offer free insulation to some consumers so its worth checking with them first. You should seek advice before starting this work yourself. There can be implications with the fibres on skin. You will need to be careful around electrical cables and maintaining air flow within the loft space.
Podcast - EPC & Fabric First
Louise and Adam talk about the first steps to take when looking at making your home more energy efficient. This can help reduce your energy bills and decrease your carbon footprint. What is Net Zero? What's an EPC? why do we need to worry about the moisture in our home?