How To Make Your Homes Energy Sufficient

How to make your
homes energy
sufficient?
By: Apurva.S
8A
Spray foam insulation

INSULATION
Insulation in your home
provides resistance to
heat flow. The more heat
flow resistance your
insulationprovides, the
lower your heating and
cooling costs. Properly
insulating your home not
only reduces heating
and cooling costs, but
also improves comfort.
Insulating your home can

save you money on your
fuel bills, and make your
home a warmer and more
comfortable place to be.
By reducing your energy
consumption, youre also
helping to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions, which
contribute to climate
change. In addition, well
installed insulation can
improve the energy
efficiency rating of your
home in your Home
Information Pack or Energy
Performance Certificate.
This guide describes the
different types of
insulation available and
the savings that can be
made. There may be
significant savings to be
Continuation
Where do I need to
insulate in my
home to protect
myself from heat
loss?
On a cold day,heat can escape from

your home in all directions- up, down
and sideways. So you should think
about insulating the whole
'envelope':
the roof,
the walls,
the floor,
windows and doors.
Many people make the mistake of
assuming that heat only goes up - but
only one form of heat transfer
(convection) primarily moves up. In
reality heat travels in all directions.
If you adjoin another home, either
through shared walls or through a
floor that is in effect another
household's ceiling, or vice versa, you
are fortunate as you will not suffer
from heat loss, assuming the other
side is heated as well. However, you
HOW INSULATION
WORKS
To understand how insulation works it helps

to understand heat flow, which involves
three basic mechanisms -- conduction,
convection, and radiation. Conduction is the
way heat moves through materials, such as
when a spoon placed in a hot cup of coffee
conducts heat through its handle to your
hand. Convection is the way heat circulates
through liquids and gases, and is why
lighter, warmer air rises, and cooler, denser
air sinks in your home. Radiant heat travels
in a straight line and heats anything solid in
its path that absorbs its energy.
Most common insulation materials work by
slowing conductive heat flow and -- to a
lesser extent -- convective heat flow.
Radiant barriersand
reflective insulation systemswork by
reducing radiant heat gain. To be effective,
the reflective surface must face an air space.
Continuation
Regardless of the mechanism, heat flows from

warmer to cooler until there is no longer a
temperature difference. In your home, this
means that in winter, heat flows directly from all
heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics,
garages, basements, and even to the outdoors.
Heat flow can also move indirectly through
interior ceilings, walls, and floors -- wherever
there is a difference in temperature. During the
cooling season, heat flows from the outdoors to
the interior of a house.
To maintain comfort, the heat lost in the winter
must be replaced by your heating system and
the heat gained in the summer must be removed
by your cooling system. Properly insulating your
home will decrease this heat flow by providing
an effective resistance to the flow of heat.
R-VALUES
An insulating materials resistance to conductive heat

flow is measured or rated in terms of its thermal
resistance or R-value -- the higher the R-value, the
greater the insulating effectiveness. The R-value depends
on the type of insulation, its thickness, and its density.
When calculating the R-value of a multilayered
installation, add the R-values of the individual layers.
Installing more insulation in your home increases the Rvalue and the resistance to heat flow. To determine how
much insulation you need for your climate, consult a local
insulation contractor.
The effectiveness of an insulation materials resistance
to heat flow also depends on how and where the
insulation is installed. For example, insulation that is
compressed will not provide its full rated R-value. The
overall R-value of a wall or ceiling will be somewhat
different from the R-value of the insulation itself because
heat flows more readily through studs, joists, and other
building materials, in a phenomenon known as thermal
bridging. In addition, insulation that fills building
cavities densely enough to reduce airflow can also
reduce convective heat loss.
Continuation
Unlike traditional insulation materials,

radiant barriersare highly reflective materials
that re-emit radiant heat rather than absorbing
it, reducing cooling loads. As such, a radiant
barrier has no inherent R-value. Although it is
possible to calculate an R-value for a specific
radiant barrier orreflective insulation
installation, the effectiveness of these systems
lies in their ability to reduce heat gain by
reflecting heat away from the living space.
The amount of insulation or R-value you'll need
depends on your climate, type of heating and
cooling system, and the part of the house you
plan to insulate. To learn more, see our
information on
adding insulation to an existing houseor
insulating a new house. Also, remember that
air sealingandmoisture controlare important
to home energy efficiency, health, and comfort.
WHERE TO
INSULATE IN A
HOME?
consider insulating the rafters to move

the distribution into the conditioned
space. (1A) attic access door 2. In
finished attic rooms with or without
dormer, insulate (2A) between the
studs of "knee" walls, (2B) between
the studs and rafters of exterior walls
and roof, (2C) and ceilings with cold
spaces above. (2D) Extend insulation
into joist space to reduce air flows. 3.
All exterior walls, including (3A) walls
between living spaces and unheated
garages, shed roofs, or storage areas;
(3B) foundation walls above ground
level; (3C) foundation walls in heated
basements, full wall either interior or
exterior. 4. Floors above cold spaces,
such as vented crawl spaces and
unheated garages. Also insulate (4A)
any portion of the floor in a room that
is cantilevered beyond the exterior
wall below; (4B) slab floors built
directly on the ground; (4C) as an
INSULATION
MATERIALS
Insulation materials run the

gamut from bulky fiber materials
such as fiberglass, rock and slag
wool, cellulose, and natural fibers
to rigid foam boards to sleek foils.
Bulky materials resist conductive
and -- to a lesser degree -convective heat flow in a building
cavity. Rigid foam boards trap air
or another gas to resist
conductive heat flow. Highly
reflective foils in radiant barriers
and reflective insulation systems
reflect radiant heat away from
living spaces, making them
particularly useful in cooling
TYPES OF
INSULATION
To choose the best insulation for your
home from the manytypes of insulation
on the market, youll need to know
where you want or need to install the in
sulation
, and whatR-valueyou want the
installation to achieve. Other
considerations may include indoor air
quality impacts, life cycle costs,
recycled content, embodied energy,
and ease of installation, especially if
you plan to do the installation yourself.
Some insulation strategies require
professional installation, while
homeowners can easily handle others.
The End

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How To Make Your Homes Energy Sufficient

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How to make your

Spray foam insulation

Insulating your home can

On a cold day,heat can escape from

To understand how insulation works it helps

Regardless of the mechanism, heat flows from

An insulating materials resistance to conductive heat

Unlike traditional insulation materials,

consider insulating the rafters to move

Insulation materials run the

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