Metropolitan Insulation Blog

…For Insulation And Double Glazing

Living on a flight path isn’t fun if you don’t like noise and you happen to live one the of the UK’s busiest airports.

To improve matters for local residents, Gatwick Airport are giving residents £3,000 towards getting their homes insulated against noise from the many planes which pass over 24 hours a day seven days a week.

The offer is open to anyone who has a home near the airport and covered by the noise contour map.

Even though the amount of noise generated by modern commercial airlines has fallen by half in recent years with advances in aircraft technology, guidelines have been updated and approved by the Secretary of State for the Environment and the funding received by residents will be part of satisfying the new guidelines.

The loudest noise levels have reduced from 90km² to 41km² near Gatwick, but the airport remains committed to finding other ways to reduce noise. One is to have aircraft descend gradually and studies have also been commissioned to look at noise in particular areas of the airport.

Whatever the measures put in place, insulating against noise is an ideal quick fix way to make living near Gatwick a little easier on the ears!

Being ‘green’ doesn’t cost the earth as they say and it is about to cost a lot less now that households in the UK are being offered money for making energy efficient improvements to their homes and this includes home insulation.

The Green Deal fund has received an extra £100m in cash which will be made available for anyone who wants to make energy efficient changes to their property.

It is possible to apply for up to £7,600 towards the cost of anything from boilers to insulation and this will include £500 for those who have moved home within the last 12 months.

The fund is not means tested which is good news for people who may not have met the criteria for other state hand outs aimed at improving the energy efficiency of households.

The money will remain available until it runs out, so if you are planning to get your home insulated it would be wise to start the application sooner rather than later even though it will be November before it is revealed how people can apply.

The government has every incentive to offer households a cheaper way to insulate their homes with poor insulation responsible for wasting huge amounts of energy each year. Any reduction in energy usage is welcome given the government’s commitment to reducing CO2 emissions.