Cavity Wall Insulation – A Real Problem

By John Ross, Research Lecturer, and MCS Heat Pump Inspector for Ireland

In past issues I have reported on the research that South Eastern Regional College (SERC) has been involved with, looking at the quality of cavity wall insulation in our homes, working sometimes alongside the University of Ulster (UUJ).

In the latter part of 2013 SERC were successful in winning a Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) tender.

The overall aim of the project is to investigate the standard of cavity wall insulation materials in 300 existing NIHE homes and provide a comprehensive report on each home and a full comprehensive research report for the NIHE.

The research project was to establish any quality issues surrounding cavity wall insulation, to include any material types encountered geographically across Northern Ireland.

This work was concluded at the end of March 2014 with the report handed over and amendments addressed.

The content of the report has seen the same outcomes that the College and the University of Ulster encountered in past private and social homes surveys across Northern Ireland.

There is a major problem with the quality of the insulation in the cavities of a very high percentage of all homes.

There are now recognised pointers to question the state of cavity wall insulation, they may not be definitive, but in nearly every case the recognised symptoms we inspected were:

1. Is the home hard to heat?

2. Does it cool down quickly whenever the heating system shuts down?

3. Are there any mould or damp issues in the home?

The insulation industry now basically to a man accepts that past methods and practices were left wanting and that the industry needs to change and up-skill to address what is a major concern in terms of tackling the serious issues of fuel poverty, energy costs, health issues and CO2 emissions to the atmosphere that are linked directly to poor quality installations.

The industry have for the past few months been working closely with SERC to establish new training standards and upskilling that moves the standards of the industry into a new acceptable phase.

SERC has had a lecturer closely working with the industry under the ‘Lecturer into Industry’ scheme to analyse the current methods and practices, to rationalise and provide new skills and learning units that accommodate change in the industry.

SERC are also in the near future hoping to complete a centre for insulation standards in their Environmental Skills Centre in their Newtownards campus.

If you’re interested in finding out about insulation issues, training or would like further information please contact me at jross@serc.ac.uk