Insulation
A well insulated home can reduce your heating and cooling bills and help you to be healthier and more comfortable all year round.
What is insulation?
Insulation acts as a barrier to heat loss and heat gain, particularly in ceilings, roofs, walls and floors.
There are two main types of insulation:
- Bulk insulation helps keep heat in or out by stopping heat from escaping or entering.
- Reflective insulation helps keep your home cool in summer by deflecting radiant heat.
Why insulation is important
Insulation helps to:
- reduce the need to use your mechanical heating and cooling systems, saving money on your energy bills
- improve weatherproofing of your home
- reduce moisture problems like condensation
Some types of insulation can also make your home more soundproof.
Types of insulation
The best type of insulation depends on where you live and whether you need to keep heat in, out or both. Your home's design, orientation to north and materials are also factors.
The Your Home Technical Manual has detailed information about climate zones, orientation and insulation types.
When to insulate
The best time to install insulation is when you are building or renovating your home.
If you are going to insulate your home at another time, the effectiveness and cost will depend on how easy it is to install. For example, it may be hard to install insulation in existing walls.
What to insulate
If your ceiling isn't insulated, you could lose 35 per cent of your winter heating via the roof.
Uninsulated walls can increase heat loss in winter by 10 to 20 per cent.
Some types of floors can also lose heat unnecessarily, up to 20 per cent of your winter heat.
Verandah roofs and garages might benefit from insulation if you spend a lot of time in these areas, especially if you are heating or cooling them.
More information
See these resources for more information about insulation:
- Your home technical manual - Insulation detailed information to help you decide on the best approach to insulating your home.
- Our step-by-step guide to installing ceiling insulation
Rebates & assistance
As a home owner, renter or landlord, you could be eligible for financial assistance and home assessments to help you start saving energy and water sooner.
Find out about government rebates and assistance.
Why do it?
- Keep the heat in during winter and out during summer
- Use your heating and cooling systems less
- Reduce your energy bills
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by heating and cooling
Did you know?
An uninsulated ceiling could waste 35 per cent of your winter heating and uninsulated walls waste another 10 to 20 per cent.
What can I do?
Take Action
Page last modified: 19 Feb 2010