Home Insulation – materials and their benefits

Basic principles of home Insulation

The right choice of thermal conductivity of insulation makes internal heat insulation as effective as creating an external thermal layer, provided that the heat barrier screen is properly placed. When considering an energy efficient approach, it’s essential to use insulation materials that optimize energy savings and improve overall comfort within the home.

Not every insulating material is suitable for insulating a house from the inside. It must meet certain properties to achieve desired results for insulation:

• Low permeability.
• No emissions harmful to human health.
• Moisture resistance.
• Ability to hold the configuration under mechanical stress.

Types of Insulation materials

In order to avoid problems during the further operation of the house renovation or building, it is necessary to choose the right insulation. In addition to physical properties, it also has mechanical parameters. Within this attribute determine the following materials for insulating walls inside the house:

• Mineral wool – the product, available in rolls, produced in different thicknesses.
• Bulk insulation – material in the form of granules from foam, has a different configuration and size.
• Foam blocks – insulation, which includes foamed concrete, sand, bone glue and pine rosin.
• Plates – insulation material in the form of plates, which are made by pressing and bonding, have different size and thickness.

Insulation materials selection criteria

Before house walls insulation starts, it is necessary to get acquainted with the parameters by which these materials are subdivided. First of all, it is necessary to know the following features:

• Thermal conductivity. It must be sufficiently low.
• Mass. Lightweight products do not require additional fastening.
• Vapor permeability. The higher this property of the material, the more effective its application, as less moisture penetrates, and more dry walls remain.
• The possibility for further finishing.
• Also, it should have a long life, allowing replacement no more than once every 12-14 years.

Application of mineral wool

Mineral wool is one the most popular insulation material because of the technical characteristics. Its main advantage is the low cost and low thermal conductivity. And also the undeniable advantage of mineral wool is its versatility. It can be applied to any uneven surfaces of any shape: roofs, ceilings, non-standard openings in the walls.

Subdivided mineral wool into three types:

• Basalt.
• Glass wool.

All varieties of this insulation are united by one property: thanks to the intertwining of fibers, air spaces are formed inside it, providing a low level of thermal conductivity.

Insulate the walls from the inside with polystyrene foam

Making a choice between the material from mineral wool and polystyrene foam, you need to keep in mind next: This insulation has a small water vapor permeability, so it is not recommended to use it on the walls with high vapor permeability (timber, logs, porous concrete).

More efficient will be its use for insulation of walls made of bricks, blocks, having low water permeability. To glue this material is used adhesive mixture.

When fixing insulation, in addition to glue, use special nails with hats.

• moisture-resistant
• fireproof
• energy efficient material
• neutral to chemical influences
• ideal noise insulator
• light weight

Excellent performance when exposed to mechanical stress and at low temperatures.

Tips from professionals

1. A vapor barrier will help if you make an airtight joint at the seams, contributing to energy efficient insulation.
2. The thermal insulation layer should not have a high vapor permeability parameter. If the wall has a higher vapor permeability than the insulation material, steam will escape, reducing energy efficiency.
3. To achieve full bonding of polystyrene foam with the wall, use the method of plaster overlay beacon and alignment of the adhesive comb. This avoids air bubbles between the wall and insulation, enhancing energy efficiency.
4. To avoid moisture on the walls, the house should have a quality ventilation system – extractors and valves on the windows, maintaining a well-insulated, energy efficient environment.

Conclusion

It is necessary to take all responsibility related to house insulation. Ideally, it should be done already at the stage of planning and construction of the house or renovation. And then, in the case of full compliance with the technology of all works on the installation of internal insulation on the walls, living in the house will be comfortable and safe.