Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Feb 23, 2009 7:37 am We've got a multi-storey house in northern Sydney (near Hornsby), mostly clad in cedar weatherboards. It can be difficult to heat in the winter, and cool on hot sunny days. In addition, we'd like to reduce our energy bills.
Can anyone recommend someone or a firm who could come around and offer independent advice on: 1. Insulating the floor/walls/ceiling more effectively 2. Heating/cooling options 3. Relocating the gas water heater, or the viability of adding a new water heater 4. Solar power Essentially we're looking for solutions and their estimated cost and benefit. Re: Professional Insulation Advice? 2Feb 23, 2009 9:04 am You need to add double glazing to your list. Single glazed windows are the largest drain on energy in your list.
If you list your window sizes and brand or type I can tell you how much they cost comparatively to "run" in heating. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Professional Insulation Advice? 3Feb 23, 2009 10:04 am ![]() Can anyone recommend someone or a firm who could come around and offer independent advice on: 1. Insulating the floor/walls/ceiling more effectively 2. Heating/cooling options 3. Relocating the gas water heater, or the viability of adding a new water heater 4. Solar power Essentially we're looking for solutions and their estimated cost and benefit. Read this for ideas: http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs45.html http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs46.html http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs62.html Air infiltration can increase heating requirements by 25%. Less than $200 of window and door seals can make a large impact. Remember to address open vents and leaky penetrations. Air can also infiltrate through gaps in the sub-floor. The link above shows where the culprit areas are. Ceiling heat losses can be of similar magnitude. $2.5-3.5K to insulate your ceiling. ~ $10/m2 materials only. Wall losses about 15-25%. Similar investment to insulate walls. Once you have addressed these components of the building envelope, you can turn your attention to windows. This will be then become the biggest area of heat loss. Upgrading them to double glazing will be your most expensive investment. This will vary according to manufacturer. As much as reducing heat loss in the household, it is important to work out strategies to introduce as much solar radiation into the interior of the house during winter. Place living areas on the north side of the house, remove permanent shading and increase your window aperture on this side. Remember every square metre of window admits as much free solar heat as a standard bar radiator. Here is some info on home heating solutions, costs and emissions: http://www1.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au/pages/heat_run.asp If you are thinking about solar and you have good solar access then I would get a solar HWS first. A standard 3-4 person system would save as much energy as a $10K 1.5 kW photovoltaic system. Keep the house cool with good shading especially on the east and west face. Reflective foil under the roof $5/m2 will reduce solar radiant heat by over 90% and reduce air-con running costs up to 20%. Use fixed length eaves on the north that allows low winter sun to get in but blocks out high summer sun. The cheapest cooling solutions are openable windows to let in the breeze and ceiling fans to encourage evaporative human cooling. Refrigerative AC is the most expensive option. http://www1.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au/pages/running.asp I have given expected improvements as % because absolute reductions depend on how well designed your house is already. e.g. if your heating bill is $3000 pa then 10% reduction = $300 decrease if it is only $1000 pa then 10% reductions is $100 decrease Versaloc is a mortarless besser block system that still needs a properly engineered footing. If you just do a 400x200 footing it will fail in time. At 17m long you need it… 1 22767 1000000% definitely add insulation. I have in my home and it makes a big difference minimising sound transfer. Insulation is pretty cheap and definitely worth it 2 7019 ![]() |