What Is Insulation, Why Do We Have It And How Does It Work? A small science lesson about insulation: Heat moves from warmer areas to colder areas. This is the single basic principle on which the idea of insulation is based. On hot days heat tries to get inside your house and on cold days the heat tries to escape. Insulation seeks to minimise this ebb and flow of temperature by slowing the process.

Unfortunately no matter how good your home insulation is, any building always needs a constant supply from a heat generating source to maintain a steady temperature. Of course however, if you have good insulation then you will need much less heat and thus a lot less energy to achieve the same effect. Most of us learned in GCSE science about conduction convection and radiation.

Here is a brief summary of each to refresh every ones memory. Conduction This is the process that heat flows through or along one material and into another. This is done through molecular transportation. To do this, the materials must be in contact with each other. This conduction happens with all things of liquid, solid or gas substances but that rate at which it happens greatly varies depending on the substance and its state i.e. if it is a good conductor or a bad conductor. Good metal conductors include gold, silver and copper down to the worst conductors like wood and THERMAL INSULATING MATERIALS. Gases and liquids are also bad conductors BUT are prone to the other, convection. Convection The requirement for solids to lose or gain heat by this process it must be in contact with the liquid. Convection happens when a change in temperature happens in parts of the fluid thus causing the liquids density to alter. This is called ‘natural convection’. If the fluid in instead displaced and accelerated by wind or artificial factors then it is called ‘forced convection’. In forced convection the process of convection can be increased substantially. Radiation This is how heat is emitted from a body and transmitted across a space as energy. This kind of radiation is similar to radio and light waves. It does not even need air in between for it to happen, and works just as well in a vacuum. Every solid body emits energy but the rate of emission all depends on three different things. Distance between surfaces The emissive of the surfaces (shiny and light/matt and dark) Temperature differences between receiving and radiating surfaces House insulation The application of thermal insulation does not have the effect of generating heat in your house. It is still always the rule that you will have to supply heat from an inside source. There may be a rise in temperature inside the building after the installation of insulation but that will be down to the better performance and energy saving properties of better house insulation. By: Sarah Maple-11606 Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Sarah Maple. Insulation grants and free insulation from Heat Project.

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One of the most commonly faced difficulties is how to add insulating material to a loft space when the floor has already been boarded and the loft is used for storage.

When you are standing in the loft, the depth of the void formed between the plasterboard of the ceiling below and the top of the ceiling joists is usually about 100mm (4").

Given that current building regulations in the UK require 270mm of insulating glass wool, if a home owner wishes to retain a boarded loft and does not want to use a "spray-on" insulation product up between the roof rafters then there is a choice to be made about which direction to take. The main choices are between: 1. Building the joists up with additional "packing joists" to create a 270mm void which can then be filled with insulating material and then re-boarded over. 2. Using a solid insulating board cut to fit in the void that exists between the joists without raising the level of the loft floor. 3. Insulating between the roof rafters with either insulating board, spray on insulation products or insulation blanket products. This article focuses on the first two potential methods, and looks at their pros and cons. Before reading the article, please note that there are a number of dangers associated with carrying out work in your loft and great care must be exercised. Follow all safety instructions available from the suppliers of the materials you decide to use and if you have any doubts about your capability to carry out insulation work in your loft safely please consult a qualified builder or insulation contractor. -Building the floor level up: Pros 1. If you run the additional "packing joists" across the existing joists at 90 degrees, you are able to run wool insulation over the top of the original ceiling joists) which reduces potential "thermal bridging". 2. The materials are, in total, probably less expensive that using insulating board 3. You retain most of your loft storage area. -Building the floor level up: Cons 1. It’s a big DIY challenge 2. The wood required for the "packing joists" may be heavy and difficult to manoeuvre into position 3. You lose some height in the loft because of the floor being raised -Insulating with insulation board between the existing joists: Pros 5. Your floor stays the same height and therefore no loft height is lost. 6. You retain your loft storage space 7. There are no heavy timbers to work with – Insulating with insulation board between the existing joists: Cons 1. Its time consuming and fiddly to cut insulation board to fit between existing joists (which are invariably, even within one loft, are different widths apart). The cutting to size of the thermal boards usually needs to be done before they are taken into the loft space as access is usually restricted but it is also important that any dust resulting from the cutting does not contaminate the property’s living space 2. Insulation board can be costly (up to 50 -60 a sheet depending on the gauge) and care is needed to cut them safely as the resulting dust acts as an irritant

3. Because you are insulating between the ceiling joists you are (by definition) not insulating over the ceiling joists. This means that where the joists run, your insulation is limited to the thermal properties of the joist timber only and your insulation will be "bridged" by the timber i.e. cold will be able to be transferred through the timber joists. 4. Where a home has been built with traditional 4" x 2" timber ceiling joists you are unlikely to get much more than 90mm of insulation board in between the joists (this will vary from property to property).

It might be that if there is any old fashioned electrical conduit that needs to be worked around, you get even less than 90mm in. Issues to worry about include thermal "bridging" when building up the joists to get the required height or when filling between the joists and re-boarding straight over the original joists. From a pure insulation, building regulations and "required effort" point of view the best solution is getting a professional contractor in to carry out the required work. To sum up, if retaining storage space in your loft is important then you can improve your level of insulation but you may have to compromise on the level of insulation you ultimately have and you have to be realistic about the difficulty and complexity of the DIY task involved. Author: Alex Perry Alex Perry is a founder of DownwithCO2.co.uk, which helps people cut their personal contribution to climate change through providing information and contacts. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Perry Green Building: Home Insulation From Straw | Greener.Ideal the Daily Eco Digest: the Latest Environmental News For a Greener Lifestyle. Save cash and go green urges John Denham With 1 in every 4 spent on heating in an un-insulated home being wasted, taking up offers of free insulation can save cash and help tackle climate change. Composite Doors Essex: Find Best Composite Doors in UK: Upvc Doors … Upvc doors offer beauty and pretty environment in both the office and a home. Experience with indoors and outdoors living which make your home very comfort.

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1. Choose an architect who understands low energy efficient house design

1. • Be sure that builders are aware of the low energy aim of your house
   • Choose tradespeople that have both knowledge and experience in energy efficience

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2. • Remember many architects/builders don’t go beyond minimum building standards and regulations but minimum isn’t the most efficient.
   • 
3. Minimize Your Heat Loss:
   • Keep your house plan simple and compact – A house that is compact and without extensions will have less heat loss due to the reduction in the external walls and roof area. Remember that single storey houses such as bungalows lose more heat through the roof than two or three storey houses where the rising heat is used throughout the levels before reaching the roof.
   • External walls should have high level insulation
   • Ensure there is good controlled ventilation and draught-proofing
   • Your architect can provide energy calculations of expected annual fuel bills
4. Maximize Your Solar Heat Gain:
   • Build along the East West axis – An energy efficient house will capture the free energy from the sun to heat your home and water. Ideally where possible choose a site where your house can face the sun (external blinds can prevent overheating in the summer months) and be sheltered from prevailing winds.
   • Houses in the northern hemisphere should locate most windows on the south side with reduced window size on the north side, and vice versa for houses in the southern hemisphere – Most windows should face the sun side to benefit from solar gains. However, some windows will have to be on the non-sun side to enable good daylight in all the rooms in your home.

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   • Kitchens and breakfast rooms are mostly used in the mornings, so for houses in the northern hemisphere a south-east orientation will take advantage of the morning sun. For houses in the southern hemisphere then a north-east orientation will take advantage of the morning sun.
   • Halls, stairs and bathrooms can be located on the side that doesn’t get much sun as there are less frequently used.
   • Locate living rooms and main bedrooms on the sun facing side
   • In two storey houses consider having your bedrooms on the lower level (cooler for sleeping) and your living rooms on the upper level further reducing your heating requirements as upstairs gets warmer

   

   • Use the sun’s energy
     • Wind Turbines can take full advantage of wind power generation
     • Heat Pumps use the sun’s energy – all renewable energy systems are complementary to an energy efficient house design
5. Install Energy Efficient Heating And Hot Water System:
   • Renewable energy systems

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   • Solar heaters
   • Use a condensing boiler if using gas or oil
   • Install easy to use controls

More information on these can be found at the Home Heating Systems and Solutions site.

6. Consider Thermal Mass
   • When thinking of an energy efficient house remember that the use of certain materials will also improve the ‘thermal mass’ of your house by their ability to slowly absorb solar heat during the daytime and then slowly release this free heat through the night – The common materials used for thermal mass are:
     • Adobe bricks (mud or earth bricks)
     • Rocks and stones
     • Concrete (preferably concrete with stone)

     This is because they have:

     • High specific heat – able to store a large amount of heat for a long period of time like the heat bricks in a sauna
     • High density – basically the weight (mass) of a material in relation to it’s volume (it’s size) – the greater the mass per unit volume the greater the density
     • Low thermal conductivity – slow absorption and slow release of heat
   • Thermal mass is not insulation, it is the amount of specific heat that can be stored in a material (water has high thermal mass by being able to store a lot of heat). Insulation materials have a lower thermal conductivity to restrict the flow and absorption of heat.
7. Insulation
   • The percentage of heat loss from a house is approximately:
     • 42% Roof
     • 12% windows
     • 12% Unblocked chimneys and draughts around doors
     • 24% walls
     • 10% Floor
   • So when thinking of building an energy efficient house understand that installing insulation at the build stage is the easiest and cheapest way of improving your homes energy efficiency.
     • You can upgrade standard timber framed walls by using 140mm studs instead of 90mm studs – this will allow you more insulation. Masonry cavity walls can be improved by being filled with polystyrene insulating foam and by using lightweight thermal blocks.
     • You should have at least 250mm of loft insulation, 100mm of insulation between the joists and 150mm of insulation laid across the top. Loft conversions require careful attention especially if dormer windows are installed but a high standard of insulation can still be achieved.
     • Heat loss from the floor varies with different floor types. However, ground floor insulation is pretty easy. Generally a 125mm layer/sheet of polystyrene is used this size will be increased if installing underfloor heating to minimize heat loss.
     • Ensure insulation overlap between elements, e.g, between the wall and loft/roof cavity
     • Ensure air gaps such as wall cavities are clear of debris that can bridge therefore compromising the insulating air gap
     • Make sure fibre insulating materials are not compressed (packed tightly) as this will undermine its ability to properly insulate
     • Make sure that all insulating materials are kept dry
     • Be sure to seal all holes where services such as water and gas pipes enter your home

     

8. Windows And Conservatories
   • You’re always going to lose more heat through windows than through walls especially single pane windows. To minimize heat lost through windows ‘Low-E’ coated double glazing should be installed in all new houses.
   • Double glazing does not only reduce heat loss, it also offers some sound insulation. With double glazing the two panes are generally vacuum sealed. However, you can get argon-filled units (gas filled), and triple glazing which are well worth considering if you can afford them.
   • Conservatories can save you a little energy by acting as a buffer between the adjoining wall by 1ff8 trapping the heat from the sun, thereby reducing the heat loss from the room separated by the adjoining wall. To be effective, conservatories should be located on the sun facing side of the house and preferably not overshadowed by trees or other buildings.
   • Conservatories correctly placed should not require any permanent heating, but the doors that separate the house from the conservatory should be double glazed and shut when not in use.
9. Efficient Home Heating
   • A well insulated house is a low energy consuming house meaning that energy efficient house heating requirements are lower than a similar sized house which is poorly insulated.
   • Your heating system should take into account:
   • • Fuel source

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     • and availability
     • The time you will spend in your home – quick or slow response systems
     • Construction material – timber framed houses should have responsive heating, such as radiators or air heat pumps, as the timber retains less heat than concrete, for example
     • Underfloor heating systems are not suited for houses built from lightweight construction materials, like timber frame, because of their slower heating response
   • You can have hydronic underfloor heating (wet or water based) systems combined with radiators. These are usually designed with the underfloor heating downstairs and radiators located upstairs.
   • Tiled solid screed floors work the best with underfloor heating. If you prefer a softer floor finish rather than tiles you should consider rugs rather than fitted carpets for better heat transference/output within the room.
   • Renewable energy systems such as heat pumps and solar heating are perfectly suited for energy efficient house designs.
10. Ventilation
    • Ventilation is an important aspect not to be overlooked as it provides both fresh air and removes stale air and moisture. Removing moisture prevents bacterial growth thus maintaining a healthy living environment.
    • Kitchens must have extractor fans or passive stack ventilation (PSV). PSV works using the principle of ‘rising’ warm air carrying stale air up and out.
    • Mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery do offer filtered air and a reduction in noise intrusion as windows can be kept closed. However, unless you are using a renewable power system such as photovoltaic (PV) or wind turbines, then the power required to run the fans rules it out as a feature for an energy efficient house. Also, for a heat recovery system to work efficiently the house must be well sealed.
    • All rooms should have trickle ventilation – allowing air to come in at a trickle rate to provide required room air change rate per hour (ACH).
11. Lighting and appliances
    • These should be low energy rated (low-wattage) saving you money in running costs and helping the planet by reducing CO2 emissions.

So now you can save the planet and save yourself running costs by building an energy efficient home. Author: George Meates-Dennis George Meates-Dennis is a heating engineer who provides easy-to-understand comprehensive information on home heating on his site Home Heating Systems and Solutions, including information on using green energy to heat your home. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Meates-Dennis Ceiling Level Roof Insulation Upgrades | Home Insulation Technology Blog Ceiling Level Roof Insulation Upgrades. Why is there frost on the asphalt shingles of the roof? | Asphalt … A house with frost or snow on the roof signals that you have insulation in the ceiling, houses that you see the snow melting off of a lot earlier than others around it may be because. Park Homes Project – home insulation 8 more park homes have just been retrofitted with external cladding plus roofinsulation in Gamston near Nottingham. The thermal performance is being dynamically monitored.

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