One of the most vital considerations to bear in mind when it comes to the comfort of your forever home is the type of residential insulation that you should invest in. Some homeowners tend to take this decision for granted under the impression that as long as they invest in superior heating and cooling, then their home will be habitable all year round. But when you take Australia's sometimes severe climatic conditions, you will quickly realise that you are setting yourself up for exorbitant electricity bills if you do not give careful thought into your choice of insulation. Fortunately, you have different types to choose from and this can help with cost savings both at the onset and for the long term. To help you with that, here is a brief newbie's guide to residential insulation for your custom home build.
Your climatic zone
Although Australia is often associated with temperate climatic conditions, this is not the case throughout the country. Therefore, before you can decide on what type of insulation will be best, you need to take into account the prevailing climate of your specific location, as the various types of insulation will offer varying properties. If your particular location experiences hot and humid weather for a majority of the year, spray foam insulation would be the best option for your needs. Not only does it offer a high R-value but its ability to expand into hard to reach gaps greatly minimises the threat of thermal gain in your new home. Conversely, if your location is primarily cool and experiences frosty winters, glass wool insulation is a better option, as it functions to trap heat.
The areas you are insulating
A misassumption that many homeowners have is that it is mandatory to employ the same type of residential insulation throughout their entire structure but this is incorrect. For starters, different parts of your home are more at risk of thermal changes than others are. In addition to this, not all the rooms in your new custom build will be utilised as living spaces. So how do you determine which areas require premium insulation and those that do not? The first thing to do is prioritise areas that will be used regularly such as bedrooms, a living room and so on. Secondly, if you will incorporate supplementary structures such as a garage or a shed, you can opt for cheaper insulation solutions. This approach keeps the entire home protected from the external temperatures while still affording you cost savings.
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