Benefits for Consumers
Effective insulation can improve comfort and health in the home.
Research conducted in New Zealand involving 1400 homes and nearly 5000 people found that people living in insulated homes that were warmer and drier reported a significant improvement in the health of adults and children compared to people living in the uninsulated homes (Housing and Health Research Program, Wellington School of Medicine, University of Otago).
Adults and children living in insulated homes reported less visits to their GP and were admitted less often to hospital for respiratory conditions. Adults were also significantly less likely to report sick days off work, and children were less likely to have days off school.
Don’t Generate – Insulate
The most sustainable energy is energy that is saved.
According to the Australian Greenhouse Office (1999) space heating and cooling accounts for around 39% of energy use in the home. At the same time domestic energy consumption is increasing and prices soaring, particularly in summer as the size of homes and the number of homes with air-conditioning increases. Power failures in meeting these peak energy demands have been experienced by all Australian states.
Improved energy efficiency measures such as insulation can only create benefits for Australia’s future. To invest billions of dollars in new power stations in a poorly insulated Australia to meet the two or three days of peak power load per year is to perpetuate the energy waste and inefficient practices of the past and present. As part of the solution retrofitting insulation in the 30% of existing Australian homes that are uninsulated is essential.
Australian homes remain some of the least energy efficient in the developed world. Even the new 6 Star Building Code of Australia, which incorporates such design and material features as building orientation, insulation and glazing only requires insulation levels at around 60% of those of homes in the USA located in similar climate zones.
When purchasing insulation be aware that the energy efficiency of insulated buildings cannot be fully realised if the R-value of the insulation, falls short of that stated on the label after it is installed.
Consumers can be confident that glass wool and rock wool, correctly installed, will provide the R-value that they paid for. Glass wool and rock wool building insulation comply fully with all applicable standards and deliver improved comfort and energy savings for the life of the building while being safe for professional and DIY installers to use.
For more information, refer to our Resources and Publications
Benefits For Industry
Insulation reduces average home heating and cooling costs by around 30% and reduces the burden of increasing energy prices. Furthermore, the cost of installing insulation pays for itself in around 3-5 years through reduced energy bills, and payback time will improve as energy costs rise over time.
Upfront investment in insulation is much more effective spending than other options as it is a once only cost that last for the life of the building (typically 50-70 years) and requires no further maintenance.
Developers, home-owners and architects will find that insulation improves property values and has been shown to increase the return on rented and leased properties. Ultimately, insulation is not expensive. To insulate the ceilings and walls of a typical house costs less than 1% of the total construction cost.
Benefits for Government
Don’t Generate – Insulate
The most sustainable energy is energy that is saved.
According to the Australian Greenhouse Office (1999) space heating and cooling accounts for around 39% of energy use in the home. At the same time domestic energy consumption is increasing and prices soaring, particularly in summer as the size of homes and the number of homes with air-conditioning increases. Power failures in meeting these peak energy demands have been experienced by all Australian states.
Improved energy efficiency measures such as insulation can only create benefits for Australia’s future. To invest billions of dollars in new power stations in a poorly insulated Australia to meet the two or three days of peak power load per year is to perpetuate the energy waste and inefficient practices of the past and present. As part of the solution retrofitting insulation in the 30% of existing Australian homes that are uninsulated is essential.
Australian homes remain some of the least energy efficient in the developed world. Even the new 6 Star Building Code of Australia, which incorporates such design and material features as building orientation, insulation and glazing only requires insulation levels at around 60% of those of homes in the USA located in similar climate zones.
More Governement-specific benefits are listed on our Government pageApparel