Home Insulation

Home Insulation is generally the best way to enhance the level of comfort over summer and winter. It can help you to save money by decreasing the amount of power required to keep your home warm or cool.

Types of Energy Efficient Home Insulation

There are basically Seven types of insulation. ·

1. Bulk insulation – such as loose fibreglass insulation,which use trapped pockets of still air within the product as a physical barrier to reduce the flow of heat.

2. Reflective foil insulation – this type works by reflecting heat away while absorbing and emitting only small amounts of heat. To work best the foil insulationreflective surface should stay shiny and as well there should be a still air space of at least 20mm between itself and the adjacent surface (ceiling or wall) foil insulation is particularly effective for roof insulation in summer as it has a high resistance to heat flow down into the home. This allows your home to cool more quickly after the sun has gone down.

3. Mineral Wool Insulation – the correct name for fibreglass home insulation is glass wool.Mineral Wool Insulation This is mainly available as fiberglass batts and blankets that can be used for ceiling insulation and wall insulation. It is made from spun fibres of molten glass.

4. Rockwool – this insulation is made from the spun fibres of molten volcanic Rockwool insulationrock and also comes in batts and blankets. Rockwool insulation can also come in loose-fill form and is usually denser than glass wool which when installed to the same thickness allows it to offer better insulation and noise absorption. Both of these are resistant to fire and insect attack.
5. Blown Cellulose insulation is made from pulverised recycled paper. To make the

material fire retardant a mix of borax and boric acid is added. This also helps to deter Cellulose insulationcockroaches and silverfish. Make sure your cellulose insulation meets the American Standard. Cellulose is mainly used as loose-fill ceiling insulation.
6. Sheep’s Wool insulation – this type is made from waste wool and is mainly sold as loose-fill ceiling insulation

7. Polyester insulation – this type is relatively new and comes in batts and Polyester insulationblankets. Other materials – that are available include polyurethane insulation, polystyrene foam insulation, mineral loose-fill granulates such as Perlite insulation and Vermiculite insulation. There is also a reflective aluminum foil insulation and combinations of different materials such as Fiberglass battswool/polyester batts and blankets or fibreglass batts with reflective foil on one side.

There are other types of Home Insulation products on the market, but we are dealing with the most common types that would ordinarily be used in domestic situations such as in your home or office.

Key Steps To Insulation · Match the type of insulation and its material to the application and space available · Make sure that the insulation “R” value is appropriate for your application · Ensure that your home is adequately ventilated and that windows have appropriate external shading. By having thermal Home Insulation installed you can reduce the required size of any heating and air conditioning units that you have to buy. This will save you money with the initial purchase cost and the Home Insulation will keep the running costs down because the units will not have to work as hard to do the required job. One thing to consider is that the house insulation energy efficiency may not be effective in houses with large areas of unshaded windows, especially if your house is not well ventilated.

What is the “R” value? · The insulation r value is the most important aspect of choosing and installing insulation. It is the measure of the product’s resistance to heat transfer and is a guide to its performance as a heat insulation. · The higher the “R” value, the more effective is the house insulation in reducing heat flow in or out of your home. · For bulk insulation, suppliers generally quote an “R” value of the insulation itself that is added to the ceiling or wall · For reflective foil insulation, the quoted “R” value refers to the total resistance of the structure (roof or wall) after the insulation material has been installed by the insulation contractors. This accounts for the resistance of any ‘air gaps’, roof and ceiling materials and how the insulation is installed. As a guide your ceiling insulation should generally have a minimum “R” value rating of 2.5 and your walls should have an “R” of 1 to 1.5

Some Useful Information · Full new Home Insulation (ceiling, walls and floor) can only be done at the time of construction · Up to 42% of your homes heat is transferred through the ceiling and 25% through external walls

Insulating Paint Products

These insulating paints have a special additive, a fine, white powder which is a blend of high strength ceramic microspheres. These ceramic microspheres are very small, about the same size as a single grain of flour. All the gas has been removed from the microspheres creating a vacuum. According to the law of physics nothing can move by conduction through a vacuum, as it represents an absence of matter. Therefore, we now have a microscopic hollow vacuum sphere that will resist thermal conductivity and reduce sound transfer.

This fine powder is mixed with paint and when applied the painted surface then dries to a layer of hard tightly packed hollow microspheres that reflects and dissipates any heat by minimizing the heat transfer path. 90% of solar infrared rays and 85% of ultra violet rays are radiated back into the atmosphere. The insulating additive is completely inert and can be mixed into any paint, including exterior house paint, interior house paint, high temperature paint, urethane, epoxy and solvent based coatings etc.

Added Benefits of Insulating Paints:

* They have longer lasting durability which means painting less often.
* Environmentally Friendly
* Non Toxic and Fire Resistant
* Reduces Heat and Cooling loss
* Helps Deaden Sound
* Exceptional stain resistance
* Resists mold and mildew, corrosion and abrasion