How should I insulate my interior walls?

What is interior wall insulation?

There are multiple types of insulation that you can install in your home, varying from internal wall insulation to external wall insulation, as well as window insulation and roof and attic insulation.

In particular, interior wall insulation involves adding insulating materials to the internal walls of your home. This is often actually more cost-efficient than insulating the external walls of your home, although adding insulation to the external walls of your home might be recommended as a more efficient home insulation option.

Internal wall insulation is often chosen as a cheaper option than external wall insulation. Or, you might find that you’re unable to install external wall insulation due to town planning regulations, or restrictions on insulation work that you can carry out on older or protected home walls.

Whatever your situation, adding insulation to your internal walls will be sure to increase your home energy efficiency, reducing the amount of heat that escapes through the walls of your home and bringing down your home heat bills.

Two options for insulating your internal home walls

The most popular option for adding insulation to the internal walls of your home is fixing your selected insulation directly onto the internal walls using glue.

Then, an aesthetic layer is added over the internal wall insulation. This could be wood or plaster, finishing off the insulation installation.

Another option is to insulate your internal walls by blowing loose insulating material into a space created between your home wall and partition boards. A disadvantage of this option is that it reduces the internal floor area of your home.

Which type of internal wall insulation should you use in your home?

If you’re looking to improve your home insulation, installing insulating materials on your interior walls is a great place to start. It’s vital to reduce the amount of heat that’s escaping through your interior walls before investing in a more energy efficient home heat setup.

So, what materials are used in interior wall insulation? There are multiple insulation options out there for your home, to suit all types of needs and budgets:

• Mineral insulating materials, such as glass wool or rock wool
• Natural insulating materials, such as cork, animal wool, wood or cotton (the best insulation for the environment)
• Synthetic insulating materials, such as polystyrene and polyurethane foam (not environmentally-friendly, but effective insulation options)
• The latest, most innovative insulating materials, such as heat-reflective and new generation insulation (these use advanced technologies like aerogel and insulating paint)

The type of insulation that you choose for your internal walls at home will depend on a variety of factors, from the budget that you have available for the insulation project, to the dimensions of your interior walls, to your preferences in terms of the insulating material you use.

Whichever type of insulation you choose for your home, how well it improves your home energy efficiency and how effectively it reduces your home heat bills will depend on the thickness of the insulation.

The thicker the insulation, the more effectively it will insulate your home. However, the thicker the insulation on your internal walls, the more it will reduce your living space.

You’ll need to balance the need for effective, thick insulation on your internal home walls with maintaining living space within the home and maximising your home energy efficiency and heat consumption.

How much will it cost to install internal wall insulation in your home?

In general, internal wall insulation is a more cost-effective method of insulating your home than external wall insulation.

If you’re on a budget, internal wall insulation is a wise choice for decreasing the heat that escapes through the internal walls of your home, increasing the energy efficiency of your home and reducing your home heat spending.

Design, dimensions, materials

The design and size of your home and the material you choose for your internal wall insulation will affect the cost of the overall interior wall insulation project.

Costs will hinge on the type of insulation

Bear in mind that the costs of your internal wall insulation will include the price of the insulating materials, as well as the costs of the professional labour to install the insulation in your home.

On balance, the insulating materials will form about ⅔ of the price of the insulation project for your home, while the professional insulation installation will be about ⅓ of the price.

Installing internal wall insulation in your home will bring down the levels of heat that escape through the walls of your home, increase your energy efficiency and bring down your home heat bills. Internal wall insulation is a highly beneficial step in installing effective insulation throughout your home!