Insulation improves health

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Insulation improves health

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science & article=UPI-1-

20070302-19300600-bc-us-insulation.xml

Science Daily (press release) - USA

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 2 (UPI) -- Insulating houses can

significantly improve the inhabitants' health, a New Zealand study

found.

Researchers at the University of Otago in Wellington identified

1,350 uninsulated homes, all in low-income communities. After

splitting the homes into two groups, researchers had one group's

homes insulated.

The insulation led to a significant increase in indoor temperature

and a drop in relative humidity, and the people living in those

homes reported their homes felt less damp and moldy.

Adults and children living in the insulated houses had fewer

respiratory illnesses and were half as likely to miss school or work

as those living in the uninsulated houses, the researchers said.

" Interventions of this kind which focus on low-income communities

and poorer quality housing have the potential to reduce health

inequalities, " the researchers said in the British Medical

Journal. " Retrofitting insulation is a cost-effective intervention

for improving health and well-being. "