Home Insulation

Slate is an excellent option as it is 100% natural and requires very little energy to extract and process.

20
Nov
2015

How to Achieve A Better Sound Experience In At Home

There have been some tremendous strides taken in the development of digital technology in recent years – not least in technology that is available in the home. It is now possible with the right insulation to not only have a dedicated theatre or music room or even a recording studio (assuming of course that you have the space to accommodate one!)

So if you do happen to like the idea of turning your home into a centre of entertainment and musical excellence then you will need to consider a few elements to make the dream a reality. The first one is your location in the house.

There isn’t much point setting up in a place that is hard to get to or that doesn’t have enough room to fit all of your equipment. You may also be spending a lot of time in the room perfecting your art so you also want that room to be reasonably comfortable and warm.

Sound insulation is also just as important. Windows should be double glazed to keep out noise and keep in heat. The door too should be well-insulated to prevent sound leakage. Adding carpet can also help prevent echoes as can acoustic panels.

If you want to find out more about sound proofing and insulation please contact one of our advisors.

Posted by admin in Home Insulation, Soundproofing, Thermal Insulation
20
Oct
2015

Global Insulation Market Is Set To Reach $67 Billion By 2020

Having the right level of insulation in homes and office can make a huge difference to energy bills and noise levels. As governments around the world press ahead with targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the global insulation market is set to grow to more than $67 billion by 2020 according to a report released by Grand View Research, Inc.

Consumers too are becoming more and more aware of the need to insulate their homes and save energy and this is seen as one of the main drivers of growth in the market. New regulations have also been put in place by governments to ensure that homes are built to higher standards of energy efficiency and older houses are modernised to conform as much as possible to modern standards.

Of course the growth in the insulation market may see the price of materials used rise and this was seen as one of the future challenges in the report. Fibreglass is one of those materials and this accounted for 40% of market revenue. The use of fibreglass in insulation in residential homes and industrial complexes is expected to see growth in use of the material rising 9.1% by 2020.

Posted by admin in Home Insulation, Thermal Insulation
06
Oct
2015

200 Worcestershire Homeowners Sign Up To £3.6m Green Insulation

Homeowners across the country are benefitting from green insulation schemes with the latest being Worcestershire.

200 householders in Worcester have signed up to the deal so far which provides them with £4,500 towards the cost of insulating their homes. The money will go towards solid wall insulation and save each household approximately £400 a year on their energy bills. The householders also get a top up from their energy supplier.

The scheme also benefits the planet by saving a total of 27 tonnes of CO2 over a lifetime. This particular scheme is being rolled out across Worcestershire with the aim being to sign up 750 homes at a cost of £3.6 million.

The scheme which has only recently been launched has encountered a few issues however with some residents being unaware that they had to make a contribution towards the cost of getting their homes insulated.

The scheme will continue until September 2016 and the council hopes to clear up any misunderstandings over who contributes and how much it will cost each household.

The cost of insulation should be seen as an investment not only in the future of the planet but also large savings on energy bills in the longer term.

Posted by admin in Home Insulation, Thermal Insulation
20
Sep
2015

Top Tips to Prepare Your Property for Autumn

Autumn is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness as the Romantic Poet John Keats wrote. It is also the season to review your insulation to make sure it is ready for the onset of winter with its shorter days and frosty nights.

One of the first things to look at when you are preparing your home for the winter is the level of loft insulation you have. Having good insulation in your roof space can of course save pounds on energy bills making it worthwhile getting the ladder out to carry out an inspection or calling out an insulation professional to come and have a look for you.

Having less than 10cm of insulation could cost you an extra £150 a year which would buy a few extra presents at Christmas time. Other measures which won’t cost the earth include draft proofing. You can insert rubber draft excluders in the windows of each room and thicker curtains which can really make a difference.

You should also be thinking about getting your boiler serviced to avoid any breakdowns just when you don’t need them. The temperature of a house can soon drop when the heating is off so it’s worth spending a bit to make sure everything is in working order.

Posted by admin in Building Trade, Construction, Home Insulation, Soundproofing, Thermal Insulation
10
Sep
2015

Noise Pollution Hotspots

A programme on ITV this month highlighted Britain’s noise pollution hotsposts and what the government is doing (or not doing) about the situation in the UK.

The UK government is pressing ahead with major improvements to transport infrastructure costing £411 billion including high speed train lines, new airport runways and roads, but it appears little thought has gone into how people will be insulated from all the extra noise this will bring.

Many studies have shown the effects of noise on health, yet the programme on ITV’s Tonight titled Britain’s Noise Nuisance highlighted a worrying lack of measures taken to combat noise even in existing noise hotspots in the UK.

The government’s decision to carry on regardless is unlikely to calm those affected and looks set to bring plenty of opposition in the coming years.
The affects on the body of exposure to noise include an increased heart rate and higher blood pressure and this can be detrimental to health, particularly in those people who are already suffering from heart disease.

In some cases noise can even be a factor in the deaths of some people. 10,000 deaths are said to have been caused by noise in Europe as a whole each year as well as 43,000 hospital admissions.

Posted by admin in Home Insulation, Soundproofing
17
Jul
2015

What Is Thermal Insulation And Why Is It Important?

Thermal insulation is not simply about keeping out the cold, it is also about maintaining a comfortable ambient temperature indoors and reducing the amount of energy consumed in homes offices and other buildings.

To use the scientific terminology, thermal insulation reduces the transfer of heat between adjacent environments. Having the right amount of insulation and using the right type of material will ensure a good balance between letting heat escape when the temperature is hot outside and keeping it in during cold spells.

If a building is insulated correctly, no matter what the weather is doing externally, the affect on the indoor temperature shouldn’t vary a great deal.

Various kinds of materials are used to insulate houses and offices with most popular material being Fibre glass. Foamed plastic is also used widely, as well as mineral wool, and even cotton slag. There are new materials being trialled all the time with many recycled materials proving to be interesting alternatives.

Aerogel is one insulation technology that is expected to grow rapidly in popularity in the future. The material once formed the basis of insulation for the space shuttle and consists of 95% air. The downside is it currently costs several times more to use this material than others on the market.

Posted by admin in Home Insulation, Thermal Insulation
03
Jul
2015

The Importance Of Fitting The Right Type Of Thermal Insulation

Depending on the time of year, having a large amount of thermal insulation can be either a good or a bad thing. The issue was reported by the Daily Mail this month when they highlighted how some homes are actually too hot in the summer.

Experts are now suggesting the drive towards greener homes may be putting people’s health at risk in cases where insulation has been overdone. This can be the case in modern flats where developers keen to display their eco-friendly approach have ended up making some areas of buildings uncomfortably hot during the summer months.

The issue was raised to the fore as a result of the recent heatwave where temperatures soared into the 30s and people were left sweltering indoors with temperatures rising above the healthy limit of 25 degrees.

Ironically, heat related deaths caused by global warming are expected to triple to 7,000 people a year. The problem is particularly likely to affect the elderly, the obese and people with chronic illnesses and it is unlikely that anything can be done to reverse the drive towards better insulation for homes.

In the future there may need to be some balance restored between creating houses that don’t use more fuel than they need to during winter, yet still be cool enough to be comfortable to live in during the summer months. Fitting the right type of thermal insulation is the obvious solution to this particular problem.

Posted by admin in Home Insulation, Thermal Insulation
30
Jun
2015

Orange Tree Waste Could Be Acoustic Insulation Of the Future

Oranges are a popular citrus fruit and we consume millions of them every year. This creates quite a lot of waste products that researchers in Spain have found to be particularly useful in sound insulation.

Orange tree waste may soon be routinely used in sound insulation as a greener alternative to conventional laminated gypsum boards. In tests, boards produced using orange tree waste actually performed better than the conventional materials, which is unusual for environmentally friendly products where compromises are often made on cost and performance.

Production of the orange-tree-based insulation boards starts when trimmings are gathered and processed before being combined with polypropylene, which admittedly isn’t so environmentally friendly as tree waste, but still a significant step towards sustainability in the sound insulation industry.

In tests the insulation boards produced from orange tree waste had the potential to rate as high as 29dBA. This was a 50% improvement on the performance of conventional laminated gypsum boards.

Oranges may not be the only fruit when it comes to greener sound insulation either. Olive tree waste is also being tested and preliminary results are just as promising.

Sound insulation companies are currently considering the costs involved in using the new greener boards in the future.

Posted by admin in Building Trade, Construction, Home Insulation, Soundproofing, Thermal Insulation
16
Jan
2015

5 Steps To Insulating Your Home

Something as straightforward as insulating your loft correctly can save you £250 on heating bills according to the Energy Trust. This significant financial saving is just one reason to check if your loft is insulated or if the insulation you have is effective.

If your loft is insulated as all new build homes are today, then there is no need to worry, but older properties may well need an upgrade in loft insulation to improve energy efficiency. Unless you are confident that you can do the job to the required standard, then it is worth asking a professional to install insulation for you.

If you do decide to go it alone and do it yourself here are 5 steps to remember:

  • Check that your roof space doesn’t have any damp creeping in before you start your loft insulation project. Damp can lead to rot and applying insulation over this is not a good idea.
  • Wear protective gear such as overalls, gloves and a dust mask to prevent fibres irritating the skin and your airways. There are alternative insulation materials available such as sheep’s wool and recycled newspapers that may be more suitable if you don’t like the thought of handling mineral wool.
  • You should make accurate measurements of your joists and the floor of your loft to make sure insulation is cut to the correct size and fits properly.
  • It is recommended that the depth of insulation for mineral wool insulation is 27cm. This can vary, however, depending on the material you are using.
  • If you already have some loft insulation, you don’t need to remove it. Just add the new material on the top. Don’t put boards on top of your insulation as this will compress it and reduce its effectiveness.
Posted by admin in Home Insulation
15
Jan
2015

Global Growth In Acoustic Insulation Market…

…Expected To Reach $4,160 Million

A report released this month highlights that demand for acoustic insulation is expected to grow by nearly 6% globally by 2019.

Strict new government regulations are driving growth in all areas of the building insulation industry according to the report. Rising concerns about the health of people living and working in poorly insulated buildings and the need for greater energy efficiency are further reasons for a dramatic risein demand.

While growth is expected globally, Europe currently has the biggest market demand for acoustic insulation. The continent accounts for nearly 38% of total global consumption of insulation materials. Alongside Europe, there is also increasing demand for acoustic insulation in developing nations and innovations and expansion in this area will be further drivers of insulation industry growth in the next four years according to the report.

Asian countries for example have seen a rapid growth in their middle class populations and this has fuelled demand for more comfortable lifestyles. Corresponding growth in the manufacturing industries of developing nations in Asia as well as the building and construction industries has also contributed to further demand for building insulation and associated materials.

Posted by admin in Home Insulation, Thermal Insulation