Loft vs Cavity wall insulation

[LucidEnergy]

Which of the two is the cheapest and overall more cost effective? My house has neither, and I will likely only be able to afford one of these. So given limtied options, if I can only have one, which is the better option?

[St Rhenium]

I'm not kidding with this - I honestly think it depends where you spend most of your time. If you're in a 2 floor home and you spend most of your time downstairs in the living room, get cavity wall insulation. If you spend all of your time upstairs, get loft insulation.

If you're downstairs most of the time, if you're good at draft-proofing the house in general you'll notice more of a positive difference from your walls.

[DianaW]

Heat rises, so I'd always go for loft insulation - for the same reason that wearing a hat in winter keeps your head warm. It also helps to keep the house cool in a hot summer. You can do it yourself, even if you can't get a grant to help fund it, so it's a really cheap as well as effective way to insulate.

Cavity wall insulation isn't even possible for old houses with solid walls and, even where the walls are built with cavities, this can't be done as a DIY project. Anything that involves professional labour will cost much more.

[olivermasson99]

Loft will be the better choice.

[CW]

Cavity and Loft Insulation are two different beasts.  we know that heat rises, so the effect of loft insulation would be great.  Think about your home as a system and it needs to be treated like a unit, look where heat can escape and then insulate it in any way you can.

[david056]

Heat rises, so I'd always go for loft insulation - for the same reason that wearing a hat in winter keeps your head warm. It also helps to keep the house cool in a hot summer. You can do it yourself, even if you can't get a grant to help fund it, so it's a really cheap as well as effective way to insulate.

Cavity wall insulation isn't even possible for old houses with solid walls and, even where the walls are built with cavities, this can't be done as a DIY project. Anything that involves professional labour will cost much more.