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Your home will have a more consistent temperature and require less cooling and heating if it is insulated on the sides, top, and bottom. It's easy to focus on insulating the walls and roof, but what about the floor? If your house rests on a concrete slab, then underfloor insulation may not be for you. However, if it has a suspended joist and beam subfloor that rests on stumps, then you may be able to put insulation underneath.

Here are some residential insulation factors to consider.

Insulation Alternatives

You can pick from material alternatives for floor insulation. One option is glass wool batts. Created from recycled glass, this insulation has air pockets that block the passage of heat through the bats. Thus, in winter, the warmth that you've nurtured with heaters will not simply drift away through the flooring. The insulation layer will also stop summer heat from easily rising through the floor. Other options include polyester rolls and polystyrene foam panels. Each product will be rated with an R-value, which refers to its ability to resist heat transfer. A higher value means the insulation more efficiently blocks heat transfer.

Other Benefits

While the main task of thermal insulation is to keep your home comfortable in terms of temperature, it also provides other benefits. If you have wooden floorboards, draughts can sometimes flow up through the joins, and insulation will stop this from happening. It will also dampen the clopping of footsteps on the floorboards. Another issue insulation can manage is moisture control. It can form a barrier that prevents moisture from the ground from seeping into the floor. If you live in a high-rainfall region, the insulation may help keep your house dry and free from mould. It will help protect flooring materials such as timber from rotting away.

Ongoing Energy Savings

A better-insulated home will allow you to turn down the heating and cooling systems, and the money saved on energy bills will help offset the installation cost. These savings will accumulate as the years go by. 

Additionally, an energy-efficient house is usually a more attractive proposition to buyers if you're planning to sell, as they can factor in potential savings in heating and cooling as well. Many people are interested in reducing the use of energy, the generation of which typically releases harmful greenhouse gases. Using less electricity is better for the environment, and residential insulation is a major weapon to enable this to happen.