Thermal Insulation

To effectively insulate a property, it’s important to eliminate thermal bridges.

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
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
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
21
Sep
2014

Thermal Insulation

Thermal insulation is a term used for products that reduce fluctuations of internal temperatures by acting as a barrier between the weather outside and the inside of the home. There are many items in the home that use insulation like boilers and pipes, but buildings need help to be more energy efficient. Home insulation reduces the amount of heat escaping in the winter and protects it from absorbing heat in the summer.

Most insulation products are made by using glass or rock that has been melted down at temperatures well in excess of 1,000°C and spun into strands of wool. A binding agent is then added to hold the strands together. These strands are formed into rolls to fit between ceiling joists to install in cavity walls.

In addition to temperature control, insulation can also be used to control sound. Acoustic insulation is can be found in walls, ceilings and even floors, but specialised soundproofing is usually reserved for special areas like home theatres.

If you live in an area where there is extreme external noise from cars, airplanes, trains or industrial machinery, you may also want to look at ways to keep the noise pollution out and your sanity intact.

Luckily Metropolitan Insulation can help with any of your needs, whether it is for domestic, commercial or even agricultural.

Posted by admin in Thermal Insulation