Insulation secrets revealed
insulation services
Installing your
insulation correctly is vital to an energy efficient house. In a report in 1981 by the CSIRO titled Builders and Insulation, stated that builders should, therefore, have a general knowledge in respect to the application and economics of the insulation materials available.
Your Home Technical Guide says: "A well designed passive home with energy efficient windows requires no heating or cooling. Even in extreme climates, it is possible to design a Zero Energy - Zero Bills house at little additional cost"
When the of owner Sunrise Homes was talking to a representative who was promoting the innovative Foilboard product, he was saying that because you put Foilboard on your home you do not need any other insulation in your stud walls.
The reality is that you are not going to go back later on and add extra wall insulation to your home. So let us get it right now.
If your home has no insulation at all, here is what happens to your heat in winter:
- A 25-35% out through your ceiling
- B 15-25% out through your walls
- C 11-20% out through your windows
- D 10-20% through your floor
- E 15-25% through air leakage
And in summer heat enters your house this way:
- A 25-35% in through your ceiling
- B 15-25% in through your walls
- C 25-35% in through your windows
- D 10-20% through your floor
- E 5-15% through air leakage
At all stages of construction cheap and easy way to increase the level of insulation for a non-insulated house is to fix item E in the above list.
Door seals, window seals and weather strips as well as effective ducting for exhaust fans.
What Sunrise Homes is going to focus, is insulating your walls and ceilings.
If you are up in the north of the country in a hot climate, then find an insulation that reflects heat and prevents heat gain, and that does not unduly prevent heat loss.
Install your insulation right:
2 big keys for insulation:
Bad gaps:
If you have just 5% gaps in your insulation then this could compromise your insulation by up to 30%. So ensure that the insulation is installed correctly. Down lights also count as gaps in your ceiling insulation.
Good gaps:
When you are installing any sort of reflective foil insulation, such as concertina foil batts or builders wrap/sisolation paper, maintain an air gap of at least 25mm between it and any other surface.
So for example if you have blue/silver paper - sisolation on the outside of your timber stud frame and bulk insulation such as pink batts or polyester batts inside your timber frame you need to maintain a cavity between the two or again the R value is compromised.
Concertina foil batts, Foilboard plus concertina foil batts, air cell, protherm, plus bulk batts. All of these products can be combined for a far better outcome that will make your home much more comfortable as well as more energy efficient and save your heating costs.
So, maintain your air gap between reflective insulation products and no gaps in the insulation itself.
15-Jun-2007