# Insulation



## Avanti1 (Nov 22, 2011)

Has anyone used the Kelyfos system of insulating the outside of their home? 
If you have can you say how effective it was/or not and the disadvantages of it?
Who installed it and were they good at their job? I am not asking for advertising - simply people to make private recommendations of how they have overcome the total lack of insulation in normal construction i.e. open blockwork,concrete and then plastered. It would be really helpful to share this important information as to how I can make my home warmer and save on fuel billls. Any help please?


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## sjg-uk (Jan 11, 2012)

We rented an apartment last winter , it was so cold , we made the mistake of not checking for direct sunlight , do the place just never warmed up. The electricity cost was huge , using convector heaters , so we bought aborted gas fire , which was cheap to run and very good.
We bought our villa and thought straight away to insulate it. We looked at many quotes from these Nano NASA paint people , prices varied from 1600 - 5000 eu !
Until one guy came and told us not to bother , just use normal water proofing paint like weather seal , as you do in the uk.
Cyprus doesn't get terrible weather , but it has some rubbish builders that only build for summer weather , so in the short winter we have problems. 
Best advise is choose a sunny positioned apartment or villa , from a good developer and have some good quality curtains made . Water proof paint the outside , gas fire and carpets and you will be as warm as toast !
It's 4 th December and we haven't even thought of turning on the heating in our place yet !


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I've never heard of this system before so I googled it and must say it looks interesting. I would certainly be interested to hear from anyone who has used it to know how effective it is. We often have people asking us about insulating their homes over here.


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## BigDutch (Dec 6, 2012)

I drop by this forum infrequently but can contribute to this thread.

I've lived in Cyprus nearly 7 years now, that 'short winter' can get as uncomfortable as the 'long summer'!! Our house is a standard reinforced concrete frame, single brick infill, concrete slab pitched roof and sliding aluminium window. Result of all that is the house transfers heat very easily. In winter we tend to use 700-1000 litres a year heating oil and the thermostat is set to 21c, in summer evenings the south & west facing walls and the upstairs ceiling are warm to the touch.

After last winter I had established that an exterior wall system was an option to keep more heat in the house during winter, and out of the house during summer. After stumbling across a contractor whilst on holiday abroad, and much thought later, during October this year the Kelyfos system was fitted and two months in we have observed that without heating or cooling the house has stayed at a consistent temperature during night and day, mid-20s in October and slowly decreasing to 20-21c at the moment. Whilst we are considering it won't be long until we fire up the boiler, in previous years we have been using heating by now, whether this year is mild I don't know ? Compared to a neighbour's place (same size, construction method and age but no Kelyfos) I went there a week or so back in shorts and t-shirt to fix his PC and they were both in trousers and jumpers and I felt chilly in there. So it is early days, and I won't know for sure until I can check utility bills after 12 months but initial impression is the Kelyfos system has had a noticeable impact on our comfort, and of course the house looks as new from the outside with the final coloured render giving a 'waterproof layer' around the house (compared to the sponge like spritz).

Disadvantage is only the disruption to the outside of the home during the works but zero impact felt to inside so as someone that works from home i wasn't effected.

Price-wise, it must be viewed as a long term investment and I think is good value in that respect, based on €50-65/sq.m depending on thickness of board. For our house there was a team of 5 on site for, I think, in total 15 working days, arrive 7am leave 4pm, a very labour intensive job but dealt with professionally by a hard working bunch.


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## Avanti1 (Nov 22, 2011)

Thanks for that Big Dutch 
I think we are able to talk about examples of good business we have personally experienced on this site and I wondered if you would be able to tell me who did your work ; as I too will be in Peyia, Paphos and would be grateful to know a professional company who can install this insulation. 
Meanwhile we must review this post in Summer - looking forward to it!


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2012)

BigDutch said:


> I drop by this forum infrequently but can contribute to this thread.
> 
> I've lived in Cyprus nearly 7 years now, that 'short winter' can get as uncomfortable as the 'long summer'!! Our house is a standard reinforced concrete frame, single brick infill, concrete slab pitched roof and sliding aluminium window. Result of all that is the house transfers heat very easily. In winter we tend to use 700-1000 litres a year heating oil and the thermostat is set to 21c, in summer evenings the south & west facing walls and the upstairs ceiling are warm to the touch.
> 
> ...


Its really interesting. How with windows? There is a Swedish/Cyprus company in Cyprus called Viking Term. They mostly work with Heatpumps and such but one of the enginears that I know very well say that what ever you do, you should start with changing windows to 3-glass. 2-glass is not enough they say.

Anders


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## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

i was told pvc windows instead of alluminium


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## BigDutch (Dec 6, 2012)

@Avanti1 - Cyprus Renovate is the name of the company.

@Vegaanders/theresoon As for windows, we had a door 'converted' into a window, and this new opening was filled with a Muskita TH2500 window whilst still aluminium the thermal break will outperform the old empty 'box' frame the sliding window sat in, I`m not sure on whether triple glaze will give massive gain over double glaze or whether uPVC will outperform aluminium with a thermal break, anything is better than the windows originally installed.

In my house walls, windows and roof/ceilings could all be 'upgraded' with regards to insulation, if money were no object then i would have done all in one go. Ultimately we opted for the exterior wall system because it gave the most short & long term advantages in our case . The upstairs ceilings we will do on a room by room basis when we re-decorate over the years, only due to the inconvenience when working inside the home. The windows ... 'one day'.


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