How You Can Save Up To 45% On Your Heating This Winter
Let’s face the horrible truth; the price of electricity and gas isn’t cheap. Not only is it one of the major household expenses, but it’s also going up year after year.
According to the latest studies, heating and cooling can account for 20 – 50% of the annual energy bill. The average Perth home spends $2,160 on electricity alone every year. Heating and cooling are a very costly expense to the home. This means that to heat or cool your home, you’re spending $432 – $1,080 every year. Who likes going to work knowing that they are handing it straight over to Synergy.
So how can you save hundreds of dollars on heating and cooling?
Before you think about turning the heating on less this Winter, have a think about how heat works in your home.
In the Winter or evenings when it’s cold outside, hot air escapes your home. In the Summer, hot air penetrates your home from outside, heating up your house.
When the house becomes too hot or cold, we rely on artificial heating and cooling. This is where we are spending up to $1,080 every year for an average home!
To prevent the home getting hot and cold, it’s crucial that we insulate the home. With insulation, the home becomes protected from external temperature variations. Artificial heating use will reduce in both frequency and duration.
How does heat enter and escape the home?
Year round, your biggest culprit for heat transfer is your roof. Up to 40% of your heat loss and gain is through the roof alone. One of the best ways to reduce this heat transfer is ceiling insulation.
Unfortunately, nearly 40% of WA homes are not insulated. Another 30% have inadequate insulation which does not meet Building Code. These can be blown in insulation, thin batts, wool or formaldehyde insulation products. Not only are they inefficient, but they can also be quite toxic.
By upgrading your ceiling insulation, you can significantly reduce your heat transfer. With less heat escaping and entering your home, you can reduce you heating and cooling bills up to 45%. This can equate to a savings of $200 – $500 per year for a small average home.
What ceiling insulation do you use?
The Building Code of Australia currently specify an R4 rated insulation batt. This is the standard for any new home being constructed in Perth. Most insulations come in even higher insulation ratings. The Bradford Gold range for example, comes in R5, R6 and R7 as part of their High Performance range. The higher the R rating, the higher the thermal performance and savings for your home.
How much does roof insulation cost?
An average 4×2 single storey, tiled home can cost $2,300 – $3,200 to supply and install R5 insulation. If insulation removal is required, this can be anywhere from $1,700 – $2,500. Factors like roof pitch, construction type, accessibility and ducted air conditioning can all influence the price.
Roof insulation case study: Edenbrooke Terrace, Clarkson
A 2007 First Home Buyers’ build, the roof insulation remained untouched since construction. The home was a double brick, tin roof with old fibreglass ceiling batts. These had compressed over time and were infested with rodent debris. As they were so old, they offered very little thermal performance (R1.4 estimated).
The cost of works were as follows;
Insulation Removal & Roof Cavity Clean – $1,500
Supply & Install Bradford Gold R5 Batts – $1,960
TOTAL = $3,460
Estimated cost savings after roof insulation works = $540 – $670 p.a.
Estimated ROI = 5-6 years
The final word.
Heating and cooling bills reducing are not the only advantage of ceiling insulation. Your home will also remain at a more ambient temperature, improving your year round comfort. With less artificial heating and cooling, CO2 emissions reduce as does your carbon footprint.
Want a quote on ceiling insulation?
We at InsulGuard keep your home warmer in the winter; reducing your reliance on heating and lowering your energy bills. A more comfortable, sustainable home for you and your family. Contact us on 1300 467 854 or fill out an online enquiry today.