INSULATION COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
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Stick to the insulation facts ICANZ
The Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ) has today urged all parties involved or
providing public comment on the Federal Energy Efficiency Homes program to stick to the known facts about
insulation.
Mr Dennis DArcy ICANZ CEO said that in recent times a number of inaccurate and misleading statements
about glasswool and rockwool insulation products have been made..
Importantly, glasswool and rockwool batts are non-combustible (fire safe), and will not conduct electricity,
and the products thermal and safety performance is guaranteed for the life of the structure.
Of the half million homes insulated to date, there has been less than half of one per cent alleged
incidents of non-compliance. Where any problems exist, they relate to compliance with Standards that
have been a prerequisite to the Federal program from its inception, Mr DArcy said.
There are many other insulation products available and the incorrect use of the generic name batts in
association with all concerns is
very
misleading and casts dispersions on insulation products
manufactured by ICANZ members.
Mr DArcy said that in less than eight months, this remarkable program has already insulated half a million
homes, will save tens of millions of dollars on total household energy bills each year, and create greenhouse
savings in the order of 450,000 tonnes each year for the lifetime of the homes already insulated.
Additionally, prior to this program, insulation supplied to the existing Australian homes market, which at the
time accounted for less than 10 per cent of the total homes market, was not governed by product standards or
installation standards, and did not require installer registration or training.
This program has delivered these new requirements and been welcomed by ICANZ and the industry.
ICANZ also endorses the Governments program of more vigilant auditing and site inspections and
that every individual person who is installing insulation undergo training to ensure they understand the
product Standards and the required OH&S measures, Mr DArcy said.
The glasswool and rockwool products produced by ICANZ members have a life time warranty on both their
thermal and safety qualities.
We recommend householders gain two quotes and asked for thermal and safety product warranties prior to
committing to having insulation installed, Mr DArcy added.
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Media inquiries: Glenn Schaube: 0439 320 151 GRS Communications
Media Release
Friday, 30 October 2009