Insulation is often associated with keeping homes warm and comfortable during the winter months. What isn’t as readily apparent is how insulation can be a vital element for comfort during the summer months as well. Insulation doesn’t just keep the cold out during winter; it also protects homes from external heat, helping to maintain a cool interior temperature. This is particularly useful when temperatures creep into the mid-30s and humidity levels soar, forcing air conditioners and fans to work overtime. Imagine keeping your home cooler, for longer, using less energy. That’s exactly what insulation helps you achieve.
Here are three key benefits to insulating your house this summer:
1. Insulation is readily available, making it an ideal DIY project
Insulating your home for a cooler, more comfortable summer, is quick and easy thanks to Earthwool® insulation. Designed for DIY projects, Earthwool® is a soft insulation that is made using up to 80 per cent recycled glass with a bio-based binder that contains no added formaldehyde. This makes Earthwool® sustainable and easy to handle. There’s a full range of DIY options available as well, including Earthwool® Ceiling batts, which can be used to insulate loft spaces or as a top-up layer to improve energy efficiency in the ceiling. You can visit your local Bunnings Warehouse store and get started today with no experience in DIY insulation projects required.
2. There are direct cost savings
Insulation reduces heat flow, which keeps heat out during the hot summer months. In fact, just by insulating your ceiling, you’ll achieve between 25 and 35 per cent summer heat gains, according to yourhome.gov.au. This means your ceiling is keeping heat out, allowing any cool air generated by your air conditioner to remain cooler for longer.
Overburdened air-conditioners or worse, aircons that have just called it quits, can cost the earth. Creating an insulated environment where your air conditioners can do less work while achieving optimal coolness is a win win situation. Plus, since our aircons are one of the biggest summer energy expenses, helping them run more efficiently has a direct impact on monthly expenses.
In fact, a study conducted by the Australian Energy Efficiency Council (EEC) found that insulation retrofits in New Zealand homes resulted in a 13.2 per cent saving on energy bills.
3. It’s better for the environment
We’ve highlighted how a well-insulated home limits the need for cooling, which directly cuts energy bills, but less electricity also means fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Where this really starts to benefit the environment and our decarbonisation and net zero efforts, however, is in the exponential power of widespread residential insulations. According to the Energy Efficiency Council (EEC), over eight million Australian homes require energy efficiency upgrades, and are responsible for around 24% of overall electricity use and 12% of Australia’s total carbon emissions.
EEC research also reveals that just through insulating new and existing buildings, Australia’s annual emissions could be reduced by 7.1 million tonnes of CO2e.
This is because properly insulated homes use less energy, but they also support the use of new technologies, such as reverse-cycle air conditioners, which allow for the pre- cooling of homes during summer months. This supports grid reliability because energy providers can better predict peak usage and properly match supply and demand without creating more (or less) energy than is currently required.
Get started today
Earthwool® insulation is safe to handle and simple to use. To support your DIY project, we’ve also created installation videos and our handy insulation calculator will tell you how many insulation batts you need to buy.
