ᐅ Install insulation now or spend the next 40 years ordering coal?

Hello, friends of good spirits!

Reading through the topics here, I wonder why no one comes to the most economical conclusion at all:
-- Instead of saving money by investing in expensive and environmentally harmful insulation materials, why not simply heat with coal...?

Let’s see how far this idea gets in terms of calculations: Insulation for a typical single-family house costs about 20,000 EUR (approximately 21,500 USD).
According to the claims in contractors’ brochures, this “pays off” usually after about 16 years... because:
-- You then have lower heating costs, but still some. Let’s assume half the costs.

How much coal can you order for the same amount of money that the insulation costs alone?
-- Based on experience, depending on the construction type, heating a single-family home with coal costs about 500-1000 EUR (approximately 540-1,080 USD) per year.
-- That means you could heat with coal for 20 to 40 years with the same money that the contractor takes out of your house for the insulation within a few weeks.

And it’s not like you don’t need to heat at all once the insulation is installed; you save some percentage, but fuel still needs to be purchased.
-- That extends the affordable period of coal heating to 50 years or more.

I bet by then the insulation will have fallen off the wall again. Maybe the house won’t even be standing anymore because it had to be demolished around 10 years after insulation due to mold.

What do you think about that?

I don’t want to criticize the CDU’s impressive initiative: Many craftsmen in Germany drive large vehicles because of widespread insulation work. That’s really great.

It’s not that simple to make the calculation. Who can guarantee that you’ll still be allowed to heat with coal in x years? Plus, the chimney sweep comes twice a year, there’s all the work, the mess, etc.... On the other hand, there’s the disposal of the insulation materials, and so on....

Whether and when something pays off depends on the factors you consider important.

For me personally, I can say that my house will no longer produce any CO2 emissions in the long run. So what now?

My insulation doesn’t cost anywhere near 20,000 euros – I would roughly say not even 10,000 euros.

I’m also not a big fan of the insulation craze, and I think it’s often exaggerated in new construction as well, but I don’t want to live in an insulated house just because of heating. It’s also about comfort, so the building doesn’t lose heat too quickly. And of course, it’s about lower energy costs – that money can then be spent on other things. Additionally, you have to consider the inflation rate, which actually helps with investments like this.

From 1989 to 1997, we heated with a coal stove. It was cozy to watch the fire. But it easily took half an hour to empty, prepare, and light it, and then you had to add more fuel regularly.

Let’s estimate one hour per day for heating. Since heating isn’t needed in summer, we’ll consider only 250 heating days per year.
To have the same free time, I would need to work 250 hours less per year.
The average hourly wage in Germany is just over 15 euros. That means earning 3,750 euros less annually.
That adds up to 75,000 euros over 20 years.
With that amount, I can invest a lot in insulation and also install a modern heating system that requires no manual work.

Chef Boss schrieb:
-- Instead of saving money with expensive and environmentally harmful insulation materials, one could simply heat with coal

The way you imagine building a house, it will no longer be approved. End of story!

Honestly, I also don’t understand how coal production and combustion could be considered environmentally friendly.

There’s no need to fill a summer slump right now!