Heating and cooling requirements account for 50% to 70% of your home energy costs. Most homes - even new ones - do not have adequate insulation or insulated ductwork.
The benefits of properly selected and installed insulation include lower energy bills, natural resource conservation and increased in-home comfort. If you are wondering, "What material makes the best insulation?," you need to understand the related concepts of heat transfer and R-values.
Heat flows into, out of and within your home in three ways: conduction, convection and radiation.
Factors that will affect the selection of the right insulation for your home include:
To understand the types of materials available to you for insulation against conduction and convection, you need to understand something called an R-value. This is a rating that indicates a material's ability to resist heat flow; the higher the R-value of the insulation, the better it will resist heat transfer. Therefore, you should purchase your home insulation based upon R-value rather than on its material weight.
Here are the four primary types of insulation for reducing heat conduction and convection:
The four types of insulation materials mentioned above are excellent for preventing heat transfer via conduction and convection, but they have zero effect on radiation. For that, the best material available is radiant barrier foil. This form of insulation is almost paper-thin as compared to other types of insulation, but in terms of insulation ability it is a real power player. In fact, radiant barrier foil reflects a full 97% of radiant heat from hitting an object - something that fiber and foam-based insulation products cannot do at all.
Radiant foil looks a bit like metallic paper. In some cases, it is perforated to allow the passing through of moisture. It is available in rolls of varying lengths, depending upon your insulation needs.
Here at Tri-County Insulation & Acoustical Contractors we have 40+yrs of service in CA and the surrounding ares.Our trained Technicians will inspect your home free of charge.
In terms of a comprehensive insulation solution, radiant barrier foil works best when used in conjunction with one or more of the types of insulation mentioned in the previous section. Together, these types of insulation can effectively work together to insulate against all three types of heat flow.