New Zealanders haven’t traditionally enjoyed warm homes, and a ‘toughen up and put another jumper on’ mentality used to be standard. However, in the past thirty years or so, the benefits of insulation for the planet, our loved ones and our pockets have become more widely understood and we’re finally following the example of many European countries who came to this realization, long before we did.
While insulation in ceilings and underfloor is now common and in many cases mandatory, homeowners and landlords often focus disproportionately on double glazing and heat transfer and ventilation systems.
These certainly have their place in keeping warmth in, and energy use to a minimum, but often, retrofitting insulation into walls has been regarded as too difficult and many Kiwis are unaware of the fact that it can be done, very quickly, neatly, and economically without having to remove walls, then replace, reline and repaint them.
This means that practically all of us can now enjoy warm dry homes, saving money and reducing power use at a time when the environmental crisis is one of the most urgent issues facing civilization, and the cost of living is soaring to historically high levels.
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Insulmax was developed by Phil Jackson, who, after living with his family in a New Zealand home realised how cold and poorly insulated Kiwi dwellings were -compared to his native United Kingdom home.
Using his knowledge of thermal engineering he devised a clever system which involves the use of a dry mineral fiber, which is water repellent and blown into the walls – using specially-developed technology – through a hole generally no larger than a 10 -cent coin. High resolution thermal imaging equipment is used on every install to ensure all areas of the wall are insulated.
Insulmax doesn’t sag, settle, and won’t slump and will continue to perform for the life of the dwelling. Once installed, Insulmax can add 100mm to a typical weatherboard clad home and up to 150mm to a typical brick-clad home.
The result is a substantial and noticeable reduction in the heat lost through your home’s external walls.
The Insulmax Retrofit Wall Insulation Method holds CodeMark certification, which is the highest form of product assurance in the country and is administered by the New Zealand Government.
The method is approved by all local councils as evidence of compliance with the New Zealand Building Code when Insulmax is installed in common types of existing homes.
This means regardless of whether your home is made of weatherboard, brick or other commonly used building materials, with or without building paper, it’s possible to retro fit Insulmax Wall Insulation.
An Otago homeowner, who found her old brick dwelling incredibly cold, says she was pleasantly surprised to discover that retrofitting wall insulation in brick homes was even possible and nowadays she can barely believe how cosy it is inside, during winter. What’s more, homes like hers which heat up during the day will retain that heat effectively, long into the evening.
“I thought retrofit wall insulation would be a good option because I wouldn’t have to rip apart the walls,” she says. “Creating a warmer, healthier home but not having to do any work to fix it up afterwards was important to me.”
In addition, other customers from across the country report that their homes are definitely warmer with reduced heating costs too, following installation of Insulmax – especially when combined with other common-sense measures such as hanging thermal-lined curtains.
Recently, the Insulmax team has been involved in a Trust House Masterton project in Wellington, adding their expertise and the Insulmax product to social housing properties, which are currently being refurbished. Trust House Masterton is going above - and beyond for their tenants, exceeding legal requirements by insulating walls as well as ceilings and underfloor.
They are very aware that Kiwi children in cold, damp conditions tend to suffer adverse health outcomes – as do elderly people, and this was a big factor in their decision to add Insulmax into the mix, when refurbishing their properties.
Raewyn, a Trust House Masterton tenant says that three weeks after Insulmax was installed in her walls, the difference in terms of warmth and comfort is already obvious and she’s hoping that it will lead to lower power bills.
“I live here with my daughter, her partner and two young children and I’m really optimistic that with having the house being fully insulated they won’t get colds and flu this winter,” Raewyn says.
Meanwhile, another Trust House Masterton tenant – also named Raewyn, says that her eldest granddaughter was born prematurely and has compromised lungs.
“We’ve been in this house for 12 years and it was always so cold before but although it’s early days with Insulmax it already feels quite different and I’m really hopeful that this winter will be the first one when she doesn’t cough and cough!”
