The older a property is, the more likely it is to suffer from poor insulation. Keeping your hot air trapped in the winter months while allowing aeration in summer is a fine balance and not always easily achieved if you reside in an older house. However, modern techniques can be used to improve the insulating qualities of even Australia's most historic dwellings.

1. Loose Fill Your External Walls

By using a material such as cellulose to fill the gaps between your home's external and internal walls, the loss of heat through them becomes vastly diminished. It will also lessen the amount your home heats up in summer, helping you to remain cool.

2. Install Rigid Board Insulation Between Storeys

Most multi-level older homes will have floorboards that can be pulled up temporarily on the upper levels. Between the floor joists, fit rigid insulating boards which can be cut easily to fit exactly between them. Then simply replace your floorboards to create a thermal block which prevents heat moving upwards so easily.

3. Lower the Moisture Content of Your Air

Older homes can trap moisture, and this means your heating system will work less efficiently. By using a dehumidifier throughout the winter, it means you need to open your windows less often to aerate your home, thereby keeping your home better insulated.

4. Add Triple Glazing

Older homes were not designed with triple glazing in mind, but modern materials mean that window units which have three layers of glass are much lighter than they used to be. If triple glazing is not practical given your walls' properties, then at least upgrade to double glazed windows.

5. Add Insulating Strips to External Doorways

Simple self-adhesive thermal strips are a great way of lowering your energy bills and reducing your carbon footprint. In older homes, doors don't necessarily fit very well into the doorways they are supposed to fill. Insulating materials that sit around the inside of the door jamb fill up any unwanted gaps and mean that air flow is restricted when the door is firmly closed.

6. Roll Out Insulation Material in Your Loft

Materials like fibreglass are easy to insulate your loft with. They come in rolls and simply need to be laid in between the roof line's joists to create a warming layer. If you ever replace the internal doors of your home, then lay these on top of the insulating material to create a further heat-trapping layer.