Living Room (EE)

Carpets and good flooring can help improve energy efficiency in a home by providing thermal insulation, by reducing heat loss through the ground and by helping limit draughts. Usually, you only need to insulate a ground floor, but you may want to think about the insulating properties of any flooring you choose for any room which is above an unheated space like a cellar. Thick underlay and carpet can help insulate your home and improve energy efficiency, but other measures such as laying insulation boards (for example, on a concrete floor) or fitting mineral wool or foam boards under the floor (for example, under wooden floorboards) can also help reduce heat loss in your home. The best type of insulation will depend on your floor. For some types of flooring, such as concrete suspended floors, or stone and tile floors, specialist advice may be needed. Engineered wood and laminate flooring are often compatible with underfloor heating and have better insulating properties than cold, conductive materials.

Underfloor heating

This is a system that warms rooms by running heat sources, such as water pipes or electric cables, under the floor. Whether underfloor heating is water-based or electric based can impact how much it costs to run and its suitability for particular rooms and spaces. The system works by warming up the floor, which then radiates heat evenly into a room. Underfloor heating means that there is no need for radiators, and that rooms are heated to a consistent temperature. Underfloor heating can be combined with heat pumps, and are likely to lead to lower energy bills. If you have underfloor heating, you will need to think about your type of flooring and whether it will work well with underfloor heating: stone and ceramic tiles, and some types of vinyl and engineered wood work well; vinyl, laminate and carpet may work but you will need to check that these are not so thick that they will stop the heat transferring from the floor into the room.

£ Draught-proofing measures such as sealing gaps around skirting boards and in floorboards may be relatively cheap: but you may want to seek professional advice to ensure that you still have good enough ventilation.

££ You can fit carpet and underlay, depending on the types that you choose, for a moderate to a high cost. Thick rugs and pads can also act as another layer of insulation and may be moderately expensive.

£££ Installing floor insulation can be expensive and the cost is likely to depend on the type of floors you have in your home. Installing underfloor heating is expensive. Look at the Good Home Lincs pages on Paying for Works  for information on how to finance changes to your home, and check out the Good Home Lincs pages on Finding Trusted Tradespeople

Take a look at the Good Home Lincs pages on flooring

The Energy Saving Trust has information on Floor insulation and Underfloor heating