Cavity Wall Insulation

Cavity wall insulation is used to reduce heat loss through a cavity wall by filling the air space with a porous material. This immobilises the air within the cavity (air is still the actual insulator), preventing convection, and can substantially reduce space heating costs.

During construction of new buildings, cavities are often filled with glass fibre wool or rock wool panels placed between the two leaves (sides) of the wall, but many other building insulation materials offer various advantages and many others are also widely used. For existing buildings that were not built with insulated cavities, a fibrous material such as cellulose insulation or glass wool is blown into the cavity through suitably drilled holes until it fills the entire wall space. Foam can also be used for this purpose. Although some foams used in the past, such as urea-formaldehyde, are no longer used (some people are allergic to this material, which is very difficult to remove once inside the wall), others, such as polyurethane, have taken their place.

Cavity wall insulation also helps to prevent convection and keeps one's house warm by making sure that heat is not lost through walls, this also is a more cost efficient way of heating one's house.

In the United Kingdom, grants from the government and from energy companies are widely available to help with the cost of cavity wall insulation.