Quick Wins

Quick wins are simple, cheap, and easy to install measures which will not only help to improve your building’s energy efficiency but are the most cost effective (in reducing heat loss per pound spent). They are also unlikely to require Listed Building Consent or Planning Permission.

Some examples of quick win measures are:

Windows and doors

Draught-proofing around windows, doors, and letter boxes
Maintaining and overhauling windows and doors that are poorly fitting
Installing secondary glazing to windows
Putting up thermal curtains or blinds

Floors, walls, ceilings, and roofs

Draught-proofing between floorboards
Making sure you have underlay beneath carpets
Insulated carpets
Chimney balloons and installing a ventilated cap where fireplaces are no longer in use
Making sure external ground levels aren’t causing damp in your house
Making sure ventilation bricks are clear
Installing LED lightbulbs
Installing loft insulation (provided it is not adhesive and is a breathable material) and loft hatch insulation

Other

Upgrading appliances when they come to the end of their life to one with a better energy performance rating
Making sure radiators have a thermostatic control valve if your house is heated by a conventional gas, oil or combi boiler

If you are planning to do a broader scheme of works to improve the energy efficiency of a listed building, being able to demonstrate that you have implemented some or all of these measures could help your application. For a tick list of these measures to submit alongside a Listed Building Consent application, please go to the Quick Wins Tick List.

Other ways to improve the internal environment (i.e. reduce moisture build up and mould growth) without making physical changes to your property include:

Turning on extractor units when using the shower or cooking. If you do not have an extractor unit, then opening the window whilst you are cooking or using the shower
Drying clothes outside if possible
Regularly opening windows – opening the windows in your house or flat for 10 minutes a day can help to ventilate the house
If your windows have trickle vents, make sure that they are open
Turning down your thermostat (if you have one) by a degree or more
Turn down the thermostatic control valve in rooms that you use less (although you should not turn them off completely to avoid damp and mould occurring in these rooms)

These simple behavioural changes can make a difference to how your home feels and could help it to feel warmer and less damp.

Additional Guidance

The Energy Savings Trust provides a helpful guide on simple lifestyle changes which can help owners and occupiers reduce their energy bills. A link to this can be found here.

Historic England have a helpful and easy to use guide about simple ways you can save energy in a traditional home. A link to this can be found here. Similarly, Historic Environment Scotland have also produced useful guidance on this, which can be found here.

Historic England have also produced a useful guide on quick win measures (referred to here as low risk measures). A link to this can be found here.

Bath Preservation Trust have produced a comprehensive guide on different energy savings measures, including details about where Listed Building Consent might be required and when you may need to consider the Building Regulations. A link to this can be found here.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy has produced a very helpful ‘workbook’, designed to help homeowners decided what energy improvement measures would be appropriate for their home. Love Your Old Home can be found here. You might find this an invaluable resource for planning future works and could be submitted in support of a Listed Building Consent application.

Quick Win Tick List - pdf - 102 Kb