Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Oct 31, 2014 11:43 am Hi all, I am located in the Southern tropics (Proserpine in the Whitsundays) and am about to start building. Air cell reflective insulation comes standard, however I can also include R2 bulk insulation to living areas for an extra $1800. We have long, hot and humid summers and shorter winters where it can reach single figures, but only at night and early morning for a few weeks. So wouldnt need anything above R2 for the bulk insulation. Is installing the bulk insulation with the reflective insulation a good idea, or best to only use reflective? The home will be air-conditioned to the master bedroom and living area with ceiling fans throughout. Thanks for your advice! Cheers, Dale Dale - Building Newbie Proserpine, QLD Re: Reflective and bulk insulation 2Oct 31, 2014 8:32 pm The Government's Your Home website is great for house design. The 'Design for climate' section discusses insulation, among other things, http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-desi ... gn-climate Looks like you're located smack bang on the boundary between Zone 1 (Hot humid summer, warm winter) & Zone 2 (Warm humid summer, mild winter). For these zones it says to avoid bulk insulation in ceilings & walls, except in conditioned spaces & where winter heating are used. Lots more info on that website. Re: Reflective and bulk insulation 3Nov 01, 2014 6:35 pm Yeah right on the border of Zone 1 and 2 - definitely have a summer like Zone 1 - hot and humid with lots of rainfall. So humid that aircon is pretty much a must in summer, so there maybe merit in having some R2 bulk insulation to help with the aircon. The reflective insulation is definitely a must as well! Winter can get a little cold, but not so much during the day Dale - Building Newbie Proserpine, QLD Re: Reflective and bulk insulation 4Nov 01, 2014 8:05 pm If you can find their details, get in touch with the person you did your NatHERS (six star) assessment - they should be able to quickly change the values in their thermal model and let you know what difference the insulation will make. It might be that the $1,800 is well spent if it saves you hundreds in AC running costs per year and pays back quickly. Are we talking about ceilings or walls here? Small footprint in Eliza Ponds, Spearwood WA Re: Reflective and bulk insulation 5Nov 01, 2014 8:29 pm Talking about ceilings, sorry should have been clearer. Havent got to the stage of the energy rating yet, but a good idea to determine if $1800 is well spent on the extra insulation or if better spent elsewhere Dale - Building Newbie Proserpine, QLD Hey guys building a new place through a volume builder and just wondering if i should complain to the site supervisor as we just had plasterboard installed. Looks like… 0 11315 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 6259 |