Improving insulation to suit an Air Source Heat Pump - what are you doing?

Returning to my original question - Is anyone doing any improvements to their insulation ?!

@Rob Whitney @Gingernut49 @NinjaGeek @hydrosam @mrmojorisin04 @RAJ 

My house has had extensive insulation fitted since I moved in 11 years ago. I had the loft insulated under the government's scheme quite a few years ago.

I'm mid-terrace so I only needed the front and back walls done and I didn't bother with my front bedroom as it's warm enough. 

Nothing planned as yet. The install of the heat pump seemed to take priority over the insulation aspect of the scheme - I’m not sure if that’ll get resurrected or not.

The original report mentioned increasing the loft insulation (from 15cm) and possibly underfloor insulation but the impact of that was fairly minimal in comparison to the cost (and hassle), especially as we have carpet with good underlay so can't imagine it would make that much difference.

No extra insulation required here.
I rebuilt my house a few years ago and insulated above buildings regs. I used the same warm roof  construction @Transparent described earlier which is really only feasible if you are intending to  re-roof the property. 
 

None needed. House was heat pump ready and has a measly 6kw air source 

Those costs seem prohibitive @Gingernut49 but then I’m looking at this from the viewpoint of a large-scale DIY renovator!

Out of interest, if you were offered some of these additional works free of charge in order to make this Trial more viable, would you still consider any of those suggestions?

Or are you put off by the disruption which some would cause?

PV is for solar (isn’t it?) and my roof is too small.

I have carpets and don’t want to have that upheaval.

I have insulation on the front and back walls and I’m mid-terrace.

I can’t afford to change my windows and what’s the point of going from double to triple glazing but then having to improve your ventilation?!

When I’m cooking I put the extractor fan on.

I have an automatic extractor in the bathroom.

Hi @Gingernut49 thanks for that page from your report, I’ve reread mine and realised it’s the answer to my question re what measures I should take.

Can I ask what your initial energy rating was ? Mine’s 53E which is obviously terrible !! I assume the ‘phase 1 measures’ means installing the heat pump. On my report the heat pump bumps me up 12 points to 65D. The next big improvement on the report would be 4kWp solar panels, which I have planned to do, that would give me 18 more points. We have a huge roof being a bungalow, limited budget though !

1: Yes @Gingernut49  PV is PhotoVoltaic Solar Panels. There are solar panels (such as the Panasonic HIT series) which are 50% more efficient per square metre. So don’t rule this out without having some more technical discussion.

I’m adding a further 10 HIT panels to my roof at the moment. It’s being done so I have the option (if I want) to connect them to my PowerVault Battery Trial Unit, or for off-grid use.

Solar battery storage is definitely one way to make your Heat Pumps financially viable. So I’m getting ready to make this proposal in a new Topic.

1b: There are future possibilities using either Kaluza’s Flex Platform or else a community-operated Micro-grid whereby power can be “borrowed” from rooftops of houses connected to the same sub-station. This is too big a subject to discuss here, but have a look at the Owen Square Community Energy Project to get a glimpse of what can be done.

2: Adding 50mm insulation below your floors is easily the most effective and easy option on your list. Unlike @juliamc you have suspended timber floors.

Frankly I don’t know why the surveyor has only stipulated 50mm. There’s a formula for calculating this based on room perimeter and area. I’ve never seen it come out this low. 70-100mm is more likely and would cost negligibly more whilst the floorboards are up..

Yes, I understand the comment about your fitted carpets… but unless we help you to do something, then you’re not going to be able to afford your energy bills!