Health and wellbeing improve if the home environment is warm and dry

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Home insulation has positive benefits for health, according to research from New Zealand.
Cold damp homes are depressing and tend to produce respiratory problems. Now researchers at the University of Otago report dramatic benefits resulting from home insulation. They identified 1350 uninsulated homes, all from low income communities, and split them into two groups. The first had home insulation installed, with ceiling insulation and draught excluders around the doors and windows. The second group did not have insulation installed.

The insulation led to a significant increase in indoor temperature and a drop in relative humidity. Those with insulation reported that their homes felt less damp and mouldy and, significantly, they were less likely to suffer from wheezing and colds, and spent less on their heating bills. Adults and children with home insulation were also half as likely to take days off work or school than those without home insulation. Clearly, then, installing home insulation is a good investment in terms of people's health and wellbeing.

Source
British Medical Journal 3rd March 2007 Volume 334 pages 434-435

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