How to make a Victorian house more energy-efficient without losing its charm
British housing stock is the oldest in Europe, with around 20% of UK residents living in six million homes that were built before 1919. Left untouched, old buildings can be cold and expensive to heat, but making them more energy efficient isn’t exactly cheap. Thankfully, there are still a range of ways – many affordable – to make your Victorian home warmer and cheaper to heat without losing its character. Read on to find out how to retrofit your older home for 21st century living.
Understanding the unique challenges of Victorian homes
The lack of modern energy efficiency innovations like cavity walls and double-glazed windows means that homes built before 1919 are more difficult and expensive to maintain at a comfortable temperature than more modern buildings. Reasons why include:
- Solid, uninsulated external walls
- High ceilings
- Open fireplaces with draughty chimneys
- Wooden-framed single-glazed windows
- Wooden floorboards.
Unsurprisingly, over 80% of homes built before 1930 have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or lower, although around half of these are rated band D.
The good news is that there are many ways in which you can improve your older home’s energy rating. To find out what might benefit your individual home, consult your home’s EPC certificate – next to your current rating you’ll see a list of tailored suggestions for efficiency improvements. Search for your home’s most recent EPC certificate at GOV.UK or – if you don’t have one – pay £60-£120 to get one, which includes an expert assessment of your home.
Another way to quickly save money on your bills – at no cost to yourself – is to perform an energy comparison. This will reveal potentially cheaper tariffs or suppliers, and the good news is that switching your gas and electricity supplier is easy and, in many cases, completely free.
Preventing damp and mould
Unlike modern dwellings, the solid walls in older houses aren’t designed to repel sources of moisture. Whether rainfall, rising ground moisture or internal condensation from cooking or washing, solid walls are constructed from permeable materials that absorb and release this moisture both internally and externally in a process referred to as ‘breathing’.
Normally, breathable buildings are designed to manage this so damp, mould and other forms of decay don’t develop through ventilation like air bricks and vents. When looking to insulate or draught-proof your home, make sure you’ve carefully assessed whether there are existing damp problems and – if there are – that they’ve been remediated.
It’s also important that any energy efficiency measures maintain breathability – for example, by insulating walls using breathable materials such as lime and/or earth-based mortars, renders and plasters.
The importance of heritage
Another unique challenge with older homes is the need to balance modern energy standards with maintaining the building’s heritage. This is especially true when adapting historic homes for energy efficiency. Depending on the age of your home and where you live, you may need to obtain permission known as listed building consent before you can start major works that is likely to alter the home’s character or appearance – for example, when insulating walls or replacing windows.
The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to go down this route to deliver meaningful energy efficiency improvements as we’ll see below.
Insulating solid walls: internal vs. external approaches
Insulating solid walls is an expensive option, but when handled correctly will make a real difference to your home’s energy efficiency rating. Here you have a simple choice between whether to insulate the external or internal walls. Each has its own set of pros and cons:
External walls
Pros
- Better thermal performance
- Fewer gaps
- No loss of interior space
- Less disruption inside the home
- Adds longevity and value
Cons
- Significantly more expensive
- Often subject to planning restrictions
- Potentially disruptive outside the home
- Requires expert installation
Internal walls
Pros
- Lower upfront cost
- Potentially more feasible due to lack of planning requirements
- Can be phased one room at a time
- External character left untouched
Cons
- Thermal performance not as effective
- Loss of internal space
- Need to remove items from the wall prior to insulating it
- Danger of damp if incorrectly installed
- May affect interior features and character
One crucial choice when insulating solid walls is the materials used. External walls are usually insulated with 100-200mm of cork, wood fibreboard or mineral wool, which is then finished with a lime render or rain-screen cladding (such as hanging lapped tiles). Again, the specific characteristics of your home will determine the exact materials required.
Internally, walls are subject to less insulation – typically 50-60mm of breathable insulation, such as wood fibreboard or insulating lime plaster.
If your home is listed, or you live in a conservation area, then consider fitting insulation internally to the front wall of your home, so the most visible exterior remains unaffected. You may then – subject to a conversation with your local authority or planning officer – be able to fit external insulation to the rear and end walls.
Suspended timber floors: how to insulate floors in an old house
Suspended timber floors are usually found on the ground floor of homes built in the early 20th century. The floorboards are laid on top of wooden joists supported by low brickwork ‘sleeper’ walls, below which is a void to the actual ground level. Airbricks fitted to the sleeper walls as well as the front and rear of your home provide a means of keeping this void ventilated.
Identifying these is simple: just raise one of the floorboards to see what’s beneath. They’re insulated using a combination of breathable insulation between the joints along with another layer that extends below – be sure to leave a clear space beneath to maintain ventilation.
There are several different types of insulation, but the best for older properties is roll or batt insulation made from mineral or sheep’s wool, similar to that used in your loft. It’s also technically possible to fit specialist boards beneath the joists and then fill the space with expanding foam. However, while this can seal gaps between warped joists, it’s not a breathable material, so could lead to damp problems in the future and is frowned upon by some mortgage and insurance providers.
Top tip: how to address potential issues with damp and rot
Before insulating your floor, check its current condition. If the problems aren’t extensive, simply replace any rotten floorboards or joists. Also check to determine the cause of the rot – is it because the air vents have been blocked up? If necessary, clear them. Another cause is rising damp – prevent this by laying a vapour barrier between the soil and the floor.
If the rot is extensive or there are structural issues, seek professional help.
Dealing with gaps in floorboards
A cheap and easy alternative to insulating your wooden floor is to simply plug any gaps in the floorboards, an action that could save you up to £40 per year per room. Before doing so, however, check the ventilation in the space below to help prevent the floor joists from rotting over time.
When it comes to filling the gaps, you have several options:
- Flexible fillers, such as rubberised strips or draught-excluder fillets.
- Resin or sealant fillers, colour matched to fill narrower gaps
- Paper, jute or foam rolls to pack the gap, topped with a sealant strip
- Get professional help, where specialists fit discrete flexible seals beneath floorboards or skirting.
Avoid expanding foam or removing airbricks as this will lead to damp and rot. Rigid fillers should also be avoided as they fall out when the floorboards naturally expand and contract.
Another short-term option is lay rugs or fit carpet – rugs are preferable because they can be taken up to allow airflow through timber floors (as well as prevent overheating during warmer months).
Draught-proofing sash windows and doors
According to Historic England, around 20% of a home’s heating is lost through its windows, most of which escapes through air gaps. These gaps – along with those around doors – can be sealed to deliver around £85-95 in savings on your energy bills when combined with other draught-proofing measures, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
To draught-proof doors, try one of the following:
- Wiper seals – the brush type is particularly effective on the bottom of doors, even where the door is slightly warped
- Compression seals – work well with external doors as they allow for the door’s seasonal movement.
When it comes to sash windows, avoid seals stuck or glued into place (they’ll eventually come loose or peel off) or those affixed using nails or screws (unsightly and will damage the frame). Instead, use a specialist product such as Gapseal, a flexible, non-permanent solution that is fitted during the winter months when the windows remain shut. When it gets warmer and you want to open the windows, remove it and store somewhere safe, ready for the following winter (Gapseal can be used multiple times).
Fitting secondary glazing to sash windows
Once draught-proofed, you can insulate the room further by fitting secondary glazing. These are separate windows fitted internally behind the sash window, which require no planning permission. When closed, they offer similar benefits to double-glazed windows, slowing heat loss from the room while improving sound insulation. When combined with draught-proofing across all your home’s windows, you can expect savings of £150-£250 per year on your energy bills.
Another way to slow down heat loss in winter is to fit internal shutters, thick blinds or curtains. Remember, while they help to keep heat in, they don’t prevent cold air coming in from outside.
Draught-proofing chimneys
You can shave an additional £60-65 a year off your annual energy bills by draught-proofing your open chimney when it’s not in use. To do this, fit a chimney balloon or similar draught excluder, which can be removed should you need to light a fire. These don’t completely seal off the chimney, so also help to avoid damp. Before fitting, check your chimney’s external brickwork – if necessary, repoint with lime mortar to prevent water getting in.
Eco heating solutions for older houses
Another way to improve your energy efficiency is through the installation of a new heating system. Again, specialist advice should be sought because you may be limited by what you can do – for example, some houses contain the original heating system, which may need to be maintained for heritage purposes.
The good news is that there are several options that can be retrofitted to existing pipes and radiators. If they’re in good condition, you may get away with no internal upgrades, but it’s likely you may have to replace radiators with larger versions to accommodate the lower water flow temperatures required by some systems.
Eco heating systems include:
- Air source heat pumps (ASHP) – extracts heat from the air, even in cold weather. Works best with well-insulated homes with larger radiators. Note, because it’s fitted to an outside wall, you may need planning permission
- Ground source heat pumps – costs at least twice as much as an ASHP and requires space in your garden for laying the underground pipes in, but if you can stomach the cost and disruption, you’ll get better performance with the added benefit of steady, year-round heat
- Hybrid heat pumps – these work in tandem with an existing oil- or gas-based system, with the heat pump meeting most of your heating needs. A good compromise in a home that’s hard to insulate
- Other options – include biomass, district heating, internal infrared heating panels and solar thermal panels.
Heat pumps come in different shapes and sizes based on a home’s heat loss. Therefore, it’s advisable to insulate your home before getting an on-site inspection to monitor and model your home’s likely heat loss before choosing the correct sized pump for your needs.
How to manage moisture in breathable buildings
Moisture, which can manifest first as condensation, builds up when air gets trapped. That’s why it’s particularly important that older buildings are adequately ventilated to help water vapour escape to prevent the build-up of damp and mould.
Your home should already have ventilation in key areas like kitchens and bathrooms in the form of vents, extractor fans and so on – make sure they’re kept clear and in good working order. If you subsequently make your home airtight, consider installing a positive input ventilation (PIV) system – cost £300-£1,000 – to circulate fresh air through your home via your loft.
A better option is to make sure you include breathable materials in your energy efficiency measures to allow moisture to escape naturally. Breathable materials include:
- Lime mortar and plaster
- Limewash
- Wood fibre insulation boards
- Cork boards or granules
- Mineral or sheep’s wool insulation.
Why regular maintenance is important
Prevention is always better than cure, so regularly maintaining your older property will help prevent issues like damp forming. For example:
- Clear gutters, downpipes and underground drains to keep water flowing away from the building
- Replace slipped or broken/cracked tiles or slates
- Repair cracks in render and missing mortar in brickwork or stone pointing.
Why you should use traditional materials
When you come to perform repairs or fit energy efficiency measures, it’s usually recommended to go with traditional materials. For example, lime is a popular material for external work because of its:
- breathability – lime allows moisture to evaporate naturally to prevent the buildup of condensation and damp
- flexibility – it’s softer and more forgiving than cement, so can accommodate minor movement without cracking
- authenticity – lime is in character with historic brickwork or stone
- repairability – it’s easier to work with and re-point, so original masonry’s life can be extended.
Things to look out for when using traditional materials include:
- cost – the materials (and labour) is usually more expensive than with modern insulation jobs
- curing time – lime takes longer, so requires protection against elements like rain and frost during this period
- skilled labour – you’ll have to factor in the cost of expert help
- maintenance – lime often requires repointing more frequently than cement.
How to access home improvement grants and financial support
If you live in an older home but lack the financial clout to implement many energy efficiency measures, there are two government-supported schemes that may be able to help. They are the Great British Insulation Scheme and ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation) scheme.
Great British Insulation Scheme
The Great British Insulation Scheme, which runs until April 2026, places an obligation on medium and large energy suppliers to install insulation in certain households to help improve energy efficiency and reduce bills. It’s open to householders who meet the following criteria:
- Live in a home with an EPC rating of D or lower
- Have the permission of your landlord if applicable
- Your home is in Council Bands A-D (England) or A-E (Scotland).
To apply for the scheme, visit the application page at GOV.UK. If you qualify, your energy supplier will contact you to assess your property and suggest improvements.
ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation) scheme
This scheme, which runs until 31 March 2026, may obligate your energy supplier to install insulation or upgrade your heating system to help reduce your energy bills.
To qualify for the scheme, you must:
- Live in a home with an EPC rating D or lower
- Have the permission of your landlord if you rent your home.
You must also be in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:
- Child Benefit
- Pension Guarantee Credit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- Universal Credit
- Housing benefit
- Pension Credit Savings Credit.
You may also be eligible for the ECO4 Flex scheme if your combined annual household income is under £31,000 and someone lives at your property with a qualifying long-term health condition.
Apply for the scheme through your energy supplier – many have dedicated webpages with steps to follow.
FAQs
How do you make a Victorian house warmer?
The most effective way of warming your Victorian home is through insulation, from the loft to the walls, floors and windows. But this doesn’t necessarily mean expensive – you can deliver tangible benefits through low-cost options like thermal curtains and draught excluders as well as rugs and carpets on wooden or stone floors.
Are Victorian houses hard to heat?
Yes, if they’re not well insulated. High ceilings, solid walls and open roof spaces along with poorly sealed doors and windows can all result in heat loss and a colder home as a result. There are lots of ways you can change this as we show in this article, along with low-cost options like fitting draught-proofing and smart use of your heating system. There are also things you can do to boost your current heating system, like bleeding your radiators.
Can you put solar panels on a Victorian house?
It depends on where you live. Solar panels may require planning permission if you live in a listed building or conservation area. You’re also likely to need a structural survey as older roofs sometimes require strengthening first.
If panels aren’t permitted, you may be able to install solar tiles or a ground-mounted array instead. It’s a good idea to consult with your local authority’s conservation officer before embarking on any work – Historic England also offers a range of links to useful helplines and societies that may be able to provide advice.
How much does it cost to insulate a Victorian house?
The cost to insulate an old house can run into the tens of thousands of pounds if you include solid wall insulation, which costs significantly more than cavity wall insulation. Here’s a rough breakdown of what to expect in a three-bedroomed semi-detached home:
- Loft insulation: £900-£1,500
- Internal solid wall insulation: £12,000
- External solid wall insulation: £18,000
- Suspended timber floor insulation: £4,700
- Secondary glazing: £300-£500 per window
Remember: older houses often present unique problems that can affect the costs – for example, potential remedial work before you begin, the type and accessibility of sash windows, heritage considerations and the need for specialist breathable materials and workmanship.
Is it worth insulating an old house?
Yes, insulating a home will help drive down energy bills and make the home warmer to live in. It may also increase the house’s value, particularly if the improvements stay true to the home’s original features and maintain its character.
However, the high cost of the work involved along with potential disruption may make it impractical to pursue all available options. Nevertheless, uninsulated homes are colder and more prone to damp as fittings fail over time. Start by performing basic repairs before moving on to other affordable measures such as insulating your loft and installing draught-proofing to benefit from a more comfortable home that’s cheaper to heat.
