It's no secret that properly insulating your home can reduce your spending on heating bills, but there's still a lot of households out there yet to take advantage of their greatest money-saving asset – their loft.

So given the recent hike in energy costs, alongside the coming winter months, we only thought it prudent to share a little friendly advice on loft insulation and explain some of the benefits.

In case you didn't already know, an un-insulated home loses a quarter of heat through the roof. Warm air rises and, unless prevented from doing so with insulation materials, will make its way into the loft space, before escaping through the roof.

Taking action to keep the heat within your property makes controlling the temperature of your home much easier, using less energy and thereby saving you money on your heating bills.

Insulation

The two main types of loft insulation include Blanket insulation and Board insulation and can be easily fitted by either yourself or a professional – so installing a secure loft ladder in order to provide safe, easy access is crucial. One of the major reasons people neglect to insulate their lofts is because they lack the convenient access required for fitting any future maintenance.

Blanket insulation is reasonably easy to handle and sits neatly between ceiling joists in your loft. So if you're attic is simply gathering dust and you've no intention of using it as anything else, now would be a good time to get up there and take a look.

Board insulation fixed to the inside of the roof itself is a good alternative to insulating the floor if you plan on converting your loft into an additional living area.

Board insulation is fixed between the roof rafters and can be bought in pre-cut packs or cut to size at home. Unless you're confident in DIY, it's probably best to contact a local insulation contractor to install these for you – so make sure you have a properly installed loft ladder waiting for when he arrives, as there'll be a lot of carrying things up and down, besides all those cups of tea!

Remember, loft insulation is generally effective for at least 40 years. The better insulated your home, the less energy you need to keep it warm, saving you money on your energy bills for many years to come.