With todays rising environmental awareness and soaring energy costs, one of the most feasible and cost effective way of reducing power consumption is to have insulation installed into your home. In a nutshell, insulation is the process of applying material within the walls and ceilings of your home, to help prevent heat, cold and sound from entering areas of your home.
Why do I need Insulation?
Living in Australia, we are no strangers to the ferocious storms and severe heat our summer brings; and with it rising energy costs as we try to get cool. A huge portion of our electricity bills are from our air-conditioners. Insulation acts as a barrier to heat (and cold). However, temperature is only the beginning of where insulation starts to benefit our homes. Apart from reducing power costs and boosting comfort, home insulation can moderate condensation and moisture in our homes which provides health incentives by reducing mould and dampness. Insulation will also decrease the amount of outside sound entering your home as well noise travelling from room to room.
How Insulation Works
The definition of insulation is – “to protect from heat, cold or noise” – which describes the role it plays in your home. The way that it works is quite simple; thick material, with millions of pockets of air, is placed within the walls or ceiling of your home creating “still air”. These thin pockets of air are non combustible, not completely eliminating the potential of a fire but decreasing the speed in which it moves between rooms.
Why is it So Important?
The cool provided by air-conditioners can leak out of homes without proper insulation. Without it, we will also need much larger cooling systems in our homes. The main benefits of insulation are:
- Reduce power up to 70%
- Lower energy costs by up to 40%
- Lower reliance on heating & cooling systems
- Lower greenhouse gas emissions
- Lower moisture preventing mould
- Improve comfort of your home
- Sound proofs your home
Where to Insulate in Your Home
We know insulating your home saves money while improving comfort but for optimal efficiency your home should be insulated from the roof to its foundations. The type and form of insulation you choose will vary greatly depending on a number of considerations which can be best determined by a professional. Main factors will be the climate of your location; the situation of your home and how it’s constructed; the R value you would like to achieve (R value being the measurement of the materials resistance to heat flow); whether you are adding to an existing home or a newly built home; and whether you’re hiring a professional or attempting to DIY.
