About thirty five years ago we paid to have insulation injected into the walls of our then five year old house.

I no longer have the receipts but I remember itbeing an expensive job. We were toldwe would see a reduction in our heating bills and soonrecover the initial outlay.

True, once it was installed we usedfractionally less energy but, when we moved fifteen years later, we still had not recoveredthe cost. As a result of the insulating work the wall cracked, which meant paying forrepairs, eliminating any savings- (there weren'tany, as far asI could see.)

Out shopping recently, Iwasasked to answer some questions about global warming, solar panels, energy saving-eco-warrior, that type of thing.

Did I believe in the concept of global warming?

'To a point'. (Ihedged my bets and was not asked where the'point' was).

Did I believe insulation cuts down on heat loss?

'Yes'.

Would I pay to have someinstalled?

'Not if it is going to take one hundred years to recoup the cost, apart from the fact I won't be here then'.

Surprisingly, the interviewer agreed with me that it was an expensive business and took a long time to pay for itself.

We have been in our present abode for more than twenty years and we can havefree installation because of our age. We might have the roof done but never the walls again.

I've been looking atinformationthat says to insulate even a small housewith a top-of-the-range pack is going to cost an eye-popping 90,000. The house needs to be vacated for six months (hotel bills,rent-a-house, caravan, stay with nearest and dearest as long as they can bear you etc) and then, at the end of one hundred years of glorious anticipation, you will make your money back.

No-one is going to be idiot enoughto mortgage their life away for that.

Who arethese peoplewho thinkpackages like thiswill catch on?

Gives a whole new meaning to the words 'saving for the future'.