The Australian Government has implemented the Energy Efficient Homes Package to assist Australians to install Ceiling Insulation or Solar Hot Water in their homes. 

Generous rebates are available for eligible parties!

*New: Renters may now be eligible for $1600 rebate.

“Homeowner  Insulation Program”

Homeowners may be eligible for the “Homeowner Insulation Program” which attracts a $1600 rebate; landlords and tenants may be eligible for the “same rebate amount. More details on eligibility can be found here. In many cases this will cover the entire cost of product and installation, however under some circumstances extra may be payable.

To apply fill out your details here answering as many of the questions as you can (or email insulation@enviroshop.com.au).

*Note: If you have installed Solar Hot Water under the Energy Efficient Homes Package, you may not be eligible for the Insulation Program. If you installed Solar Hot Water under Sustainability Victoria’s ResourceSmart program, you may still be eligible for the Insulation Program.

Program Eligibility

To receive the rebate, you must meet certain criteria.
The applicant must:

• Be an Australian citizen or resident, over the age of 18, or incorporated entity in possession of a dwelling,
• Be a homeowner, landlord or tenant,
• Use a registered installer to install the insulation, and
• Correctly fill out and sign the relevant section of the Work Order Form.

The dwelling must:

• Have no existing insulation unless of negligible value,
• Be the principal place of residence,
• Be constructed prior to 2003*, and
• Be the main dwelling, not an extension.

* From 2003, the Building Code of Australia introduced mandatory Energy Efficiency requirements for new dwellings and alterations, which includes insulation in ceilings.

The program is not applicable to commercial or institutional buildings, only to dwellings, although the owner of the dwelling can be a range of entities including organizations, co-operatives or companies.

Further information regarding eligibility and the programs can be found here:
http://www.environment.gov.au/energyefficiency/index.html

Green Loans

You may also be eligible for the Green Loans scheme, which subsidises interest on a loan for 4 years subject to undergoing a Home Sustainability Assessment. For more information, see:
http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/index.html.

For more information on Insulation and the program, please see the Insulation Program FAQ

The Application Process

The application process is as follows:

• Fill out our form, answering as many of the questions as you can.

Further information regarding eligibility and the programs can be found here:
http://www.environment.gov.au/energyefficiency/index.html

• Once we have your details we will contact you to do a pre-assessment and quotation. Some jobs may require a site inspection.
• We will provide you with a written quotation detailing the insulation product type, the insulation R-value, the area to be insulated, total cost including GST, and the cost breakdown.
• While some companies are marketing the Program as “free insulation”, the reality is that not every installation job is going to come in below the rebate amounts. You are liable for any costs over and above the rebate amount; and if your application is not approved you may be liable for the entire cost.
• If your quote is for more than the rebate amount, we would request the balance amount to be paid upfront to proceed.
• You will need to sign and return both the quotation and the Work Order Form. Once we have those the insulation is ordered and installation booked in.
• Once installation has taken place, and you are satisfied with the work, the Work Order Form is filled out and each party retains a copy. This must be retained for 5 years. A tax invoice is also generated.

What We Offer

We use Autex GreenStuf®, an additive-free, fully recyclable  100% Polyester lofted insulation product, manufactured in Australia. It is non- irritant, non-toxic and non-allergenic. Autex is certified under ISO 9001 and 4001, and Greenstuf® has  the Good Environmental Choice Australia Ecolabel. The Ecolabel indicates the environmental performance of a product from a whole of product life perspective and is awarded to products that meet voluntary environmental performance standards. A complying Thermal Insulation product must have 85% recycled content.  GreenStuf® complies with AS/NZS 4859.1 and Building Code of Australia requirements for insulation.  It is manufactured locally in Heidelberg.GreenStuf® is available in R3.5 and R4.0 thicknesses for the Energy Efficient Homes Package.

Alternative Insulation Products

Insulation is also made in foil composite form, and in batts made from spun glass, or “glasswool”. The foil composites are very good for some applications; we sell Air-Cell products, which can be used for wall lining, roof lining, and under floor insulation, including for steel framed structures. These products alone do not have the thermal R value required for the program. It would be possible to install it in conjunction with other products to comply, but costs would be higher.

While Glasswool batts can achieve the required Thermal R values, they have a tendency to create dust or fragment; these fragments can cause skin irritation in susceptible individuals, and is not always the preferred material for domestic settings. Polyester batts on the other hand are non- irritant, non-toxic and non-allergenic and comply with the relevant Australian standards.

Technical Information About Insulation

The R value of a material or system refers to its ability to prevent heat loss or heat gain.  This ability is known as thermal resistance, measured by dividing the insulation’s thickness by its thermal conductivity, with units of m2K/W.
 
This means that when you have insulation in your walls or ceiling it limits the amount of heat lost during winter when you are running heating appliances, or gained in summer when you want the house to stay cool or you are running an air conditioner.

Most heat lost or gained this way is through the ceiling. This is why the Energy Efficient Homes Package covers ceiling insulation.

Bulk insulation products such as batts are described in terms of Material R value, whereas reflective insulation or systems refer to Total R value. A system such as a roof structure will have a Total R value depending on a number of factors, including presence of reflective foil, airgaps, and number and properties of layers in the system.

The Energy Efficient Homes Package guidelines allow consideration of properties by either the Total R value approach outlined in the Building Code of Australia, or by Material R value of the bulk insulation. In most cases considering the Material R Value will be adequate.

In Victoria, different regions fall into different climate zones. Most metropolitan areas are Zone 6, which requires R3.5 insulation as a minimum to be installed. Areas surrounding Melbourne can fall in Zone 7 which requires R4.0. Areas in the North-West of the State which fall into Zone 4 also require R3.5 insulation.

Installation Eligibility Requirements

Assistance through the “Homeowner Insulation Program” is dependent on the following installation criteria being met:

• Insulation must be installed to the Australian Insulation Standard, AS 3999-1992, ‘Thermal Insulation of Dwellings – bulk installations – installation requirements. The additional requirement is to comply with the minimum clearance distances from recessed light fittings and downlights covered by wiring rules in AS/NZS 3000:2007.
• Insulation must comply with AS/NZS 4859.1 including the 2006 amendment.
• Insulation must comply with the specified R value for the climate zone where the dwelling is located, so in the case of Victoria it must be R3.5 for Zones 4 and 6, and R4.0 for Zone 7. For information on what climate zone you are in, see the ABCB’s Climate Zone maps
• bca2009_climate_zone_map_vic-1.pdf
• bca2009_climate_zone_map_aus1.pdf

The Environment Shop now stocks a range of Insulation products, which allow you to conserve energy, and save money. Insulating your home allows you to reduce the energy consumption of your home, by making your house more thermally efficient. This in turn, makes it easier for your heating and cooling appliances to maintain your home at a comfortable temperature, using less energy in the process.

Renshade

Renshade is ideal to stop heat radiating through windows. It can be simply fastened to the inside glass by Velcro spots and is easily removed, rolled up and put away until the next hot spell, or it can stay in position for the duration of summer.

Benefits of Renshade: 

• keeps heat out - but lets light in
• extreme summer heat is blocked - but not the view (see out, but not in)
• no blinding glare from the sun - only gentle filtered light
• lowers cooling costs - heat load on airconditioning is greatly reduced

Available in the following sizes:
1250mm x 1m [$20] / 5m [$81] / 10m [$162] / 20m

Please contact us for further information.

Air-Cell Insulation

With Air-Cell your insulation is clean, fibre-free and non-allergenic, your energy footprint is smaller, and your loved ones are comfortable.

By using Air-Cell Insulation in your roof, ceiling, walls or floors, not only will you reduce your energy needs and impact on emissions, but you would also be choosing a product that uses no water in its production. Unlike some conventional bulk insulation, Air-Cell does not contain toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, or any other volatile organic compounds (VOC).

Wrapped up in an ultra-thin profile, Air-Cell is Australias leading thermo reflective insulation brand, and is the first insulation product in Australia to achieve CodeMark certification to the Building Code of Australia, giving you total peace of mind.

The Environment Shop stocks the following Air-Cell Insulation products:

Glareshield

Air-Cell Glareshield features an anti-glare coating on the upper/outer surface and high polish aluminium foil for the under/inner surface separated by a fire-retardent polyethylene cell structure.

Glareshield is a clean, safe, fibre-free insulation designed to replace conventional fibre based batt and building blanket insulation in commercial and residential buildings. Glareshield is installed into the walls, roofs, ceilings and floors as a vapour barrier and insulation barrier all in one.

Retroshield

Air-Cell Retroshield features two opposing faces of high polish aluminium foil surfaces separated by a fire-retardent polyethylene cell structure.

Retroshield is a clean, safe, fibre-free insulation designed to replace conventional fibre based batt and building blanket insulation in commercial and residential buildings. Air-Cell is installed into the walls, roofs and ceilings and floors as a vapour barrier and insulation blanket all in one.

Air-Cell is manufactured without the use of toxic or reactive adhesives. This distinctive feature means that it is extremely durable over time, as there are no foreign properties to react and cause product degradation over its extended life.

Insulbreak

Air-Cell Insulbreak represents the latest in insulation technology from Air-Cell Insulation.

Insulbreak is manufactured with a patented closed-cell foam structure sandwiched by an anti-glare coating on the upper/outer surface and high polish aluminium foil for the under/inner surface.

Designed specifically as a compliance solution for steel framed construction. Insulbreak delivers the thermal break required under the Building Code of Australia (BCA) 2006 for steel-framed walls and roofs to reduce thermal bridging and conductivity between building elements.

Insulbreak is also a 3-in-1 product acting as insulation, a vapour barrier, and a thermal break all in one single application. 

Please contact us for further information.