Smh.com.au has reported (17/10/2016) on recent research showing that home insulation standards in Australia are not the most cost effective.
Research by Pitt & Sherry shows that if national standards for home insulation where increased, Australian home-owners could save $6000 in energy bills over 30 years.
If actual energy prices rose above what was forecast in the study, additional insulation would become even more cost-effective.
The report also argues that most Australian homes need a 50 per cent increase in ceiling insulation and a 35 per cent increase in wall insulation to achieve optimum saving potential.
Tony Westmore, general manager of the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity, who partnered with Knauf Insulation and Association of Wall and Ceiling Industries for the research, says that a third of all Australian homes still don't have insulation.
Mr Westmore says that homes using air-conditioning without insulation were effectively leaking money out through their roof and accruing a greater cost to the community.
Stuart Dunbar, managing director of Knauf Insulation, said that the benefits of insulation "should last the life of the building with minimal maintenance, unlike heaters and air conditioners which need to be serviced and eventually replaced."
