Nigel Cleall, 52, decided to take the drastic measure after being given one of the controversial air source heat pumps being pushed by the UK government.
He says the shoddily installed system – propped up on two bricks – failed to heat his home properly leaving him with black mould in his bathroom and son’s bedroom.
In a bid to warm his freezing home last year, Nigel covered the walls and ceilings of the property in Martley, Worcs., with cardboard he bought for £1 off eBay.
He has since spent £140 on polystyrene wall tiles which he has placed over the cardboard in his bedroom, living room and hallway.
Lorry driver Nigel says he has now managed to half the energy bills in his ground floor flat as a result of doing his own insulation for just £141.
He refused to use the air source pump system given to him by his housing association as it failed to heat his home and left him with eye-watering bills.
Many Brits have also complained about a litany of problems associated with the pumps since they were pushed as an energy-efficient solution by the government.
Nigel, who lives at the property with his 13-year-old son, said: “If I had the heat air source pump system would have cost me £1,000 a month, that’s why I didn’t have my heating on.
“I used an electric heater, which still cost about £500 a month, because while it was quick to heat up, it would just disappear because of the lack of insulation.
“There was nothing between my flat and the flat above, so it would just leave the flat.
“I paid about £140 for the insulation tiles and put them in the hallway, the living room and my bedroom on top of the cardboard that I’d already put up.
“It’s now that warm in the flat that I noticed condensation on my bedroom window the other day, which only happens when it’s hotter inside than it is outside.
“I’ve been here for about 12 years and never noticed condensation in the bedroom because the heat has never stayed in.”
Nigel’s 1950s prefabricated two-bed flat was fitted with a heat air source pump system which he says is supposed to switch off when a room reaches a certain temperature.
But the dad-of-two says because the insulation is so poor in his home, the temperature was never reached, meaning the system stayed on all day.
Nigel’s smart meter recorded that to switch his heating on, it would cost him around £1.92-an-hour.
If this was allowed to run for 20 hours, which Nigel says it would on account of his poor insulation, his daily bill would be around £39 or around £1,170-a-month.
But after he insulated his house with cardboard last year, it dropped down to around £500 a month.
And with the new insulation tiles installed, he’s managed to halve that again.
Nigel said: “I first had an air source heat pump installed in 2011. Ever since then I have been fighting to get it out as it is just far too expensive to use, but I have had no luck.
“That kind of heating system is great for some, but it is just not designed for my property. I only really use it to heat my water because it is extortionate.”
Nigel has now given Platform Housing an ultimatum to provide adequate insulation or he says he will deny them access to the home.
He added: “I have given Platform a deadline to come in and sort this.
“They have until the end of December, and if not, I will not be giving them access to my home to carry out any other work.
“They promised they were going to do all the work and gave me a date in April 2022 and then again in March 2023, but they never did.
“I said enough is enough, you’ve got until December 31 to do the work. If not, forget it. Enough is enough.”
Nigel previously told how he considered moving him and his son into his garden shed which he said was warmer than his flat at the time.
He added: “I come home from work and can’t put the heating on. It’s like living in a garage.
“I can’t afford it, I’m a single dad. All I want is a comfy home for me and my son.
“I go to work, and I keep my nose clean and I am not a criminal. I do everything by the book and you just don’t get anywhere, it is just wrong.”
Marion Duffy, Platform’s chief operations officer said: “Mr Cleall’s home, along with all the properties in his building, are due for major retrofit energy efficiency works to be carried out, as part of the grant we secured from the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
“We understand Mr Cleall’s concerns so have arranged to visit him again, to ensure that we can offer him our continued support and explain the benefits of the improvement works, which we anticipate will start in March.”
