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Home Insulation

Introduction

Insulating your home is the most effective way to improve the comfort level throughout the year. It will help you to save money by reducing the amount of energy needed to keep your home warm or cool.

By having insulation installed you can reduce the required size of any cooling or heating units that you have to buy. This will save you money with the initial purchase cost and the insulation will keep the running costs down because the units will not have to work as hard to do the required job.

One thing to consider is that insulation may not be effective in houses with large areas of unshaded windows, especially if your house is not well ventilated.

As a guide your ceiling insulation should generally have a minimum "R" value rating of 2.5 and your walls should have an "R" of 1 to 1.5

Quick Reference

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Key Steps to Insulation

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Types of Insulation

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What is the "R" value?

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How much do I need?

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Health & Safety Tips

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More Information

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What you'll Pay

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What's Available

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R-Values of Loose-Fill

Key Steps To Insulation

Match the type of insulation and its material to the application and space available
Make sure that the insulation "R" value is appropriate for your application
Ensure that your home is adequately ventilated and that windows have appropriate external shading

Types of Insulation

There are basically two types of insulation.

Bulk insulation - such as fibreglass or cellulose fibre, which use trapped pockets of still air within the product as a physical barrier to reduce the flow of heat.
Reflective foil insulation - this type works by reflecting heat away while absorbing and emitting only small amounts of heat. To work best the reflective surface should stay shiny and as well there should be a still air space of at least 20mm between itself and the adjacent surface (ceiling or wall)

Reflective foil is particularly effective for roof insulation in summer as it has a high resistance to heat flow down into the home. This allows your home to cool more quickly after the sun has gone down.

What is the "R" value?

The "R" value is the most important aspect of choosing insulation. It is the measure of the product's resistance to heat transfer and is a guide to its performance as a heat insulator.
The higher the "R" value, the more effective is the insulation in reducing heat flow in or out of your home.
For bulk insulation, suppliers generally quo an "R" value of the insulation itself that is added to the ceiling or wall
For reflective foil insulation, the quoted "R" value refers to the total resistance of the structure (roof or wall) after the insulation has been installed. This accounts for the resistance of any 'air gaps', roof and ceiling materials and how the insulation is installed

How much insulation do I need?

How much insulation your home will need will depend upon the climate where you live as well as the design of your house.
Most coastal areas will need an "R" of 2.5 to 3 for the ceiling
For inland areas you will need an "R" of 3.5 to 4.0 for the ceiling
For your walls you can choose either 1.5 to 2.0

Generally your ceiling should have minimum "R" rating of 2.5 and your walls "R" 1.0 to 1.5

Important Health and Safety Tips

Remember to wear protective clothing that should include loose fitting coveralls, gloves, eye protection and a facemask when you handle products sch as fibre glass wool and rock wool
Cellulose fibre must be treated with fire retardant during manufacture and no other type of insulating material (such as expanded polystyrene beads)should be combined with it.
Eye protection should be worn when installing reflective foil materials externally as they can cause dangerous glare
Make sure that the insulation is made to Australian Standards and complies with the fire safety requirements as set out in AS1530-3
Have a qualified electrician check the house wiring before insulation is installed, particularly in older homes.
Remember not to place insulation over or around appliances that need ventilation to prevent heat build-up.

Some Useful Information

Full insulation of your home (ceiling, walls and floor) can only be done at the time of construction
Up to 42% of your homes heat is transferred through the ceiling and 25% through external walls

What you'll Pay

This price is for insulating an average ceiling of 120m² to an R-Value of 2.5

$660 for fibreglass batts (installed by you) (add $150 if installed by the supplier)
$770 for polyester batts (installed by you) (add $200 if installed by the supplier)
$770 - $1200 for loose fill cellulose (this is usually installed by the supplier)
$1100 - $1600 for loose fill sheep wool (this is usually installed by the supplier)

You will pay less for a lower R-Value. As you go up in the ratings expect the price to rise by around 10 percent.

What's Available

Mineral Fibres - the correct name for insulating fibreglass is glass wool. This is mainly available as batts and blankets that can be used to insulate ceilings and walls. It is made from spun fibres of molten glass

Rock Wool - this insulation is made from the spun fibres of molten volcanic rock and also comes in batts and blankets. It can also come in loose-fill form and is usually denser than glass wool which when installed to the same thickness allows it to offer better insulation and noise absorption.

Both of these are resistant to fire and insect attack.

Cellulose - insulation is made from pulverised recycled paper. To make the material fire retardant a mix of borax and boric acid is added. This also helps to deer cockroaches and silverfish. Make sure you cellulose insulation meets the Australian Standard. Cellulose is mainly used as loose-fill ceiling insulation.

Sheep's Wool - this type is made from waste wool and is mainly sold as loose-fill ceiling insulation

Polyester - this type is relatively new and comes in batts and blankets.

Other materials - that are available include polyurethane and polystyrene foams, mineral loose-fill granulates such as Perlite and Vermiculite. There are also reflective foils and combinations of different materials such as wool/polyester batts and blankets or fibreglass batts with reflective foil on one side.

R-Values and the Thickness of Loose-Fill Products

Cellulose at typical density of 30kg/m³

R-Value

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Minimum Thickness (mm)

75

95

115

135

150

Wool at typical density of 12kg/m³ - 15kg/m³

R-Value

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Minimum Thickness (mm)

90

115

140

160

180

Price Guide Index

Price Guide Main Page | Goto Top of Page

R-Value	2	2.5	3	3.5	4
Minimum Thickness (mm)	90	115	140	160	180