Insulating an enclosure - worth it?

Hello,

On another thread of mine I posted this photo, of my enclosure build in progress. It shows the 2" rigid foam insulation that I put on the top, sides and back of my enclosure.

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps493b39b3.jpg

I was asked if it helped to keep the enclosure warmer.

The answer is yes and no. The insulation doesn't keep the enclosure any warmer because the thermostat I use regulates the temperature so it's the same always. What it does do, though, is keeps the warm air inside longer. Because it keeps the warm air in longer, my heat source doesn't work as often. It defiantly saves energy and money!

Does anyone else use insulation - what do you find?

The materials used to insulate it will probably cost more than you'll save in a year on energy consumption. Not worth it in my opinion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheSnakeGuy

The materials used to insulate it will probably cost more than you'll save in a year on energy consumption. Not worth it in my opinion.

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I had raised the question in his other thread. Basically I was curious if it would improve the ambient temperature in my cage. I believe the radiant heat panel in my boaphile 421d cage is too low wattage (I believe 40 watts; it was an option on boaphile to add to the cage) to maintain satisfactory ambient temperature on its own, but I didn't want to go out and buy the insulation before I heard whether it had a noticeable effect. Common sense tells me that insulation would improve the temperature, but I don't know if it would in a significant way. Currently I struggle to reach above 75ºF ambient when my room temperature gets below 70ºF.

Maybe you need to add a heater to your room? I have a room which tends to get very cold in winter. Its almost impossible to get ambient temps high enough in that room. So, I added a heater to the room. I use the heater to raise the temps in that room to around 78 degrees.