A study published in The Lancet a few years ago showed that 6.5 per cent of deaths in Australia are attributed to cold weather, compared with 0.5 per cent from hot weather. Most of those deaths will be from cardiovascular and respiratory disease, as it’s the heart and lungs that struggle when we are outside our comfort zone. That’s contrary to many people’s expectations, which is why it is so important to reduce heat loss in our homes during cold weather.
One of the areas of your home that can be improved is reducing the amount of heat loss through the floor, especially if you have a suspended floor.
Without insulation beneath the floorboards, thermal bridging will create a direct link to the external temperature beneath the floor and outside the home. This can lead to heat loss that requires excess heating energy within the home.
While carpets and rugs provide some insulation, they do a poor job. And if these are your only forms of floor insulation, you will still need to heat your draughty home in winter.
One way to determine whether underfloor insulation is right for your home is to calculate the R-value which is a measure of thermal resistance.
The best time to install subfloor insulation is during construction or renovation, but it can also be done at any time by a professional installer or competent DIY homeowners. Obviously, it is the most cost-effective when installed by the homeowner, and you start saving on your heating bills straight away.
Why does heat loss matter?
Heat loss occurs because of draughty houses. Sustainability Victoria says that up to 25 per cent of winter heat loss in existing homes is caused by draughts, while nine out of 10 homes in Victoria have unwanted draughts.
The draught effects are worse during the extremes of summer and winter when it is more difficult to lock in comfortable temperatures because indoor air can easily be lost outdoors through the multitude of draughty areas.
And while your home will be less comfortable, it is also costing you money. If your house is draughty, it costs more to heat because while heat is escaping you have to crank up the heater to stay cosy.
Draught proofing, such as installing expanded polystyrene underfloor insulation like Expol, minimises the amount of warm air that escapes during winter and the amount of hot air that enters in summer.
What does an R-value measure?
The R-value of an insulation product tells you how well it resists heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the resistance to heat transfer, the greater the insulating effect and the greater the energy and money savings.
To calculate the R-value you add the various materials together. For a suspended timber floor you add the R-value of the floor, the R-value of any floor covering like carpet, and the R-value of the underfloor insulation. Different products with the same R-value will provide similar insulation performance, regardless of thickness or the type of material.
For example, timber floors have an R-value of around 0.3, if you add carpet you can add around another 0.3 to bring the total to 0.6. If you then add Expol underfloor insulation which has an R-value of 1.4 you come up with a grand total of 2.0.
Sustainability Victoria says for the Victorian climate it recommends that the R-value for floor insulation should be R2, with a minimum requirement of R1.
Underfloor insulation can be installed by a DIY homeowner
Unlike some underfloor insulation products, Expol Underfloor Insulation has been designed to be used by DIY-ers as well as professionals.
A competent DIY homeowner or owners could install Expol underneath their home in a weekend.
All that’s required is to measure up, cut to fit, install the Expol panels, fix with fittings, and place wire guard around cables. The steps include:
Measure joist spacing for consistency
- Cut the Expol to fit (leave 5 mm extra for firm fit)
- Slide panels between joists
- Secure Expol fittings
- Place Expol Wireguard around cables
- Leave 100 mm near pipes and plumbing for future maintenance.
The benefits of Expol Underfloor Insulation
Expol Underfloor Insulation by Foamex is available in a range of sizes and is an easy DIY project and a smart way to start saving money on your energy bills. It is perfect for new homes as well as existing homes.
Foamex’s Expol Underfloor Insulation comes with a 50-year limited product warranty and conforms to the minimum thermal resistance rating, with an R-value of 1.4 for timber floors.
Expol Underfloor Insulation is available at a range of leading home hardware retailers across Australia and is great for DIY installers because it’s easy and quick to install.
To learn more about how Expol Underfloor Insulation can benefit your next home building or home renovation project, or to find your closest stockist, visit the Expol website.
