These days people are more and more interested in having their homes energy efficient.  It could purely be for the purpose of saving money or perhaps it's also to be more environmentally friendly.  Whatever the motives you have for being energy efficient, there are loads of things that you can do which don't necessarily have to be expensive or difficult to do.

Did you know that that on average, half of the heat from your home goes out of your walls and loft?  That's a heck of a lot of money when you think about it.  You're paying a lot for your heating and yet about half of it's just being wasted.  This is why it's so important to have your home well insulated.  There are many different types available and which ones you opt for really depends on where you are having it installed.

If your home has cavity walls then having them insulated is really good and you will truly notice a difference.  About a third of the heat lost from a home is through the walls so cavity insulation should be high up on your list of priorities.  Some people worry that it will take many years for them to see any kind of financial benefit however with cavity wall insulation you will get your money back in 2 years.  It also helps with condensation which is great if that's a problem you experience.  However you shouldn't try to save even more money by doing the work yourself.  This is very much a job for the experts.

For those with solid walls then you can use different types of insulation better suited for this purpose.  There is insulation you can get which is for internal and also external purposes.  Which type you choose really depends on how much work you want to put into it and what your personal circumstances are.  Talking to a local installer will allow you to get a much better idea.

If you are happy to have your floorboards lifted up then you can have insulation fitted underneath.  This might not be to everyone's liking because it involves a bit of upheaval.  However you can also do things like seal up any gaps between the floorboards and also between the floor and the skirting boards.

Roughly a quarter of the heat lost in your home is through your roof so insulating your loft is an excellent idea.  Your loft might already be insulated however insulation in the past hasn't been all that brilliant.  You might feel that's it's time to have it upgraded.  Ideally you should get insulation that's 270 mm in depth however there are different kinds of insulation and they aren't all the same.  Loft insulation can last for about 40 years, so once you have it installed you can enjoy the benefits for a good long time.  If you are good at DIY then you can save even more money by installing the blankets of insulation yourself.  However if you are opting for "blown insulation" then you need to have a professional installer in.

In addition to insulation, you need to consider what draughts there are in your home.  Basically you need to fill in any gaps that allow cold air in from outside.  By filling in these gaps you will notice that you don't need your heating on as much to keep your home warm.  If you notice draughts coming in under your doors then you can have draught excluders installed.  They are very cheap to buy and you can fit them yourself.  If your windows are old then you should either have them replaced with modern ones or you could have the old windows renovated.

If your windows are old they also probably will just be single glazed.  These days most windows are double glazed and even triple glazed.  The air is trapped between the layers of glass which in turn creates an insulating layer.  Not only can it help with heat insulation, it can also be great for sound insulation if you live on a busy street with lots of traffic noise.

Hopefully this article will have given you some ideas on how to make your home more energy efficient.  Some people go even further by having solar panels, wind turbines and ground-source heat pumps installed.  Not all homes will benefit from these things however insulation will always be beneficial so have a look around your home and try to decide what insulation is required.

You would be forgiven for thinking that woodworms are actual worms, however they are in fact the larvae of a number of different insects including moths, weevils, death watch beetles and house long horn beetles.  In most cases, however, woodworm refers to the larvae of the furniture beetle.

The woodworm will bore into pretty much anything made from wood including furniture, floorboards and structural timbers.  It’s unlikely you will ever see the actual larvae however you will see the tiny little holes they create in your wood.  Basically the larvae emerge as adults and leave the holes behind as they leave during the summer months.

Woodworm can come into your home if they are brought in via antique furniture however the beetles can also fly into your home from outdoors.  The furniture beetle particularly loves damp wood and plywood so if you have any damp problems you ought to get it checked out.  Damp can occur due to faulty plumbing work or a leak in your roof. 

Of course, if you have damp problems this can also cause mold and wet rot so it isn’t something you ought to ignore for long.  Woodworm itself is slow acting so you needn’t be sent into a mad panic about it.  Having your home properly surveyed by a professional company is very much advisable.  Make sure you get quotations from more than one company so you can get a true idea of what the treatment should cost.

Before you go on to have the woodworm treated you ought to find out whether the woodworm is old or active.  The way you can tell if it is active is to look out for any wood dust created by their boring.

If you are looking to take a DIY approach to woodworm in your wooden furniture you can buy surface treatments or you can buy products that are injected into the holes.  There are also insecticidal furniture polish products on the market.

For treating structural timbers you need to be able to have good access to them by removing insulation and you also need to cover up the water storage tank and electricity cables.  Floorboards should be lifted up so you can reach underneath them.  You can them treat them with woodworm treatment products that can be bought from DIY and builder merchant stores. 

Of course, if you have really bad woodworm you should consider using a professional as they can guarantee the work.  You might think that treating woodworm yourself will be really easy but if you do it yourself you might to have the experience to do the job properly.