THERMAL INSULATION
THE BIG ENERGY-SAVING LIE - Television report from WDR
UNFORTUNATELY, THE VIDEOS ARE IN GERMAN ONLY - PLEASE GO TO SETTINGS TO TURN THE SUBTITLES ON AND TO CHANCE THE LANGUAGE TO ENGLISH
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INSULATION MADNESS: Living without high costs
Year after year, many people fulfil their great dream and build or buy their own house. The joy is often marred by a multitude of regulations and ordinances.
Laws and efficiency standards for new and old buildings are tightened again and again at regular intervals, some of which are often incomprehensible.
In addition to mineral or rock wool, old and new buildings are heavily wrapped in polystyrene sheets. Energy performance certificates must be presented and those who refuse often face heavy fines. Saving energy is good ... but sensible insulation, tight windows, sensible heating, and proper ventilation are measures that are more likely to have visible results. The following film shows how dangerous the wrong insulation can be.
In the meantime, the homeowners' association is already advising against insulating the façade afterwards, because it does not pay off. Old, massive buildings that have reached the end of their useful life are demolished and can be shredded and recycled as building material. The vast quantities of polystyrene from the hopelessly oversized thermal insulation have to be incinerated or disposed of as hazardous waste. Dipl.-Ing. and architect Hartmut Himpe of the Münster Chamber of Crafts and Education Centre (HBZ) says on this subject: "In Germany, the insulation madness is spreading. At some point, thicker and thicker insulation no longer leads to further energy savings.
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The moisture no longer gets out ... try drying a wet jumper in a plastic bag." And ultimately, this is not only true for Germany, France, Spain, Italy, all of Europe... the whole world has the same problem.
Other architects and building experts also take a critical view of the calculation of the energy balance of highly insulated buildings. The energy used to produce the insulation material and later to dispose of it at great expense must be included in the balance sheet, unfortunately not being done. Simply saving more and more energy is obviously not the right way to go because the savings potential has long been completely exhausted. The investment costs are no longer in any reasonable proportion to the benefits achieved. A rethink of the building insulation and energy generation is necessary. The use of proper insulation is therefore crucial.