Insulation in Australian houses
Feb 26th 2010, 2:42 pm
#16
UK is Home
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Home- "Glasgow"
Posts: 1,137
Re: Insulation in Australian houses
From my experience and as a builder.
Aus houses are freezing in the winter and like an oven in the summer.
British Traditional and kit houses are nice and cool in the summer and can be kept warm in winter quite easily.
this as i mentioned was my experience, and as a matter of fact a lot of people will think Insulation in many shapes or forms are there to ONLy keep the heat in!
Not SO
To put everything into context, No matter where you build a house if it is build Properly without spaces under doors where you could drive a car under or see your internal Plasterboard through gaps between window frames and outside walls where it should be sealed with Something and maybe something between your roof tiles and the Plasterboard cielings then it should be in theory quite simple to keep warm in winter and cool in summer.
Aus houses are freezing in the winter and like an oven in the summer.
British Traditional and kit houses are nice and cool in the summer and can be kept warm in winter quite easily.
this as i mentioned was my experience, and as a matter of fact a lot of people will think Insulation in many shapes or forms are there to ONLy keep the heat in!
Not SOTo put everything into context, No matter where you build a house if it is build Properly without spaces under doors where you could drive a car under or see your internal Plasterboard through gaps between window frames and outside walls where it should be sealed with Something and maybe something between your roof tiles and the Plasterboard cielings then it should be in theory quite simple to keep warm in winter and cool in summer.
Australian houses have traditionally been built to cope with the hot weather. Lots of big windows, sliding glass doors, etc. They are large, wide, open and single storey. This is all designed to let the light in and the hot air out. This stands in contrast to the houses you get in the UK, which are basically little two storey shoeboxes with solid internal walls, excellent insulation and tiny windows, so the heat stays in during winter.
Unfortunately we have tended to neglect our insulation, so many Australian houses are poorly insulated or not insulated at all. This makes them very uncomfortable in winter and reduces the effectiveness of air conditioning during summer. In the UK they have the opposite problem; British houses are poorly ventilated, so you can't get rid of the heat in summer and you can hardly breath for most of the year anyway because you can't get enough fresh air into the place.
Unfortunately we have tended to neglect our insulation, so many Australian houses are poorly insulated or not insulated at all. This makes them very uncomfortable in winter and reduces the effectiveness of air conditioning during summer. In the UK they have the opposite problem; British houses are poorly ventilated, so you can't get rid of the heat in summer and you can hardly breath for most of the year anyway because you can't get enough fresh air into the place.
Feb 27th 2010, 10:11 am
#17
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,397
Re: Insulation in Australian houses
>>To put everything into context, No matter where you build a house if it is build Properly without spaces under doors where you could drive a car under or see your internal Plasterboard through gaps between window frames and outside walls where it should be sealed with Something and maybe something between your roof tiles and the Plasterboard cielings then it should be in theory quite simple to keep warm in winter and cool in summer.<<
You are talking 25th century building!
Even "modern" houses in Australia are still being built with 30 - 40mm gaps under the doors and gaps at the sides of windows you can see through. Quite apart from the heat loss and leaves coming in, people seem to think that livestock in the form of spiders, snakes etc entering for a tour is normal!
As for roof insulation - shocking.....
You are talking 25th century building!
Even "modern" houses in Australia are still being built with 30 - 40mm gaps under the doors and gaps at the sides of windows you can see through. Quite apart from the heat loss and leaves coming in, people seem to think that livestock in the form of spiders, snakes etc entering for a tour is normal!
As for roof insulation - shocking.....
Feb 27th 2010, 11:56 am
#18
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Insulation in Australian houses
Single story houses are more environmentally friendly for the Aussie climate because heat rises and upstairs can get very hot in summer and with the penchant for no eaves on McMansions the walls heat up like heat banks and stay that way all summer. Hence large power bills.
We designed our own house and we live on top of a hill between Port Phillip and Westernport Bay so we opted for sliding windows a couple of which are opposite sliding doors on the other side of the house, when the cool change comes we just push the windows right back and cool the house down. Steel roofs are much easier to cool down and keep the heat in better than tile in winter.
We designed our own house and we live on top of a hill between Port Phillip and Westernport Bay so we opted for sliding windows a couple of which are opposite sliding doors on the other side of the house, when the cool change comes we just push the windows right back and cool the house down. Steel roofs are much easier to cool down and keep the heat in better than tile in winter.
Rentals seem cold. But many people I know do have heating - ducted or otherwise. Probably economic too.
For us, a wood heater makes the winter. Without one, I would be an unhappy bunny. Our house gets cold and requires heating like any other, but I am not too precious about it - we have insulation in the roof - maybe we need more. I reckon the kids need to toughen up a bit
I have never liked some stuffy, UK homes were you can practically smell the heating.
Feb 27th 2010, 2:54 pm
#19
UK is Home
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Home- "Glasgow"
Posts: 1,137
Re: Insulation in Australian houses
25th century building?
>>To put everything into context, No matter where you build a house if it is build Properly without spaces under doors where you could drive a car under or see your internal Plasterboard through gaps between window frames and outside walls where it should be sealed with Something and maybe something between your roof tiles and the Plasterboard cielings then it should be in theory quite simple to keep warm in winter and cool in summer.<<
You are talking 25th century building!
Even "modern" houses in Australia are still being built with 30 - 40mm gaps under the doors and gaps at the sides of windows you can see through. Quite apart from the heat loss and leaves coming in, people seem to think that livestock in the form of spiders, snakes etc entering for a tour is normal!
As for roof insulation - shocking.....
You are talking 25th century building!
Even "modern" houses in Australia are still being built with 30 - 40mm gaps under the doors and gaps at the sides of windows you can see through. Quite apart from the heat loss and leaves coming in, people seem to think that livestock in the form of spiders, snakes etc entering for a tour is normal!
As for roof insulation - shocking.....
