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We Can All Agree That Insulation Is a Good Idea
- Insulation reduces the transfer of heat to keep your environment comfortable all year round.
- Insulation is one of the lowest cost options for improving the
energy efficiency of your home. Over time it pays for itself with energy savings and keeps paying you back for as long as you own your home.
- A quality insulation job gives you improved comfort.
A good insulation job will keep snow on your roof and ice out of your gutters. Note how the blanket of snow is even across this roof. Even the vent pipes have minimal melt around them.
- Proper insulation is a critical step in protecting the investment you've made in your home.
What is a properly installed insulation job?
Attention to detail is required to provide a consistent level of insulation that will perform well. Some homes prove difficult to retrofit with any type of insulation. We enjoy working with you to come up with the best option that fits your current needs and budget.
To determine where your home ranks in energy efficiency have us come out and look things over. We can give you some options of what can be done or you may choose to have us perfom a full energy audit. Click here to learn more about full energy audit process we follow.
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House as a System
- There is a continuous interaction among the occupants, structure, mechanicals, environment, pollutants and energy sources in your home. As one cha
1st Law of Thermodynamics
- Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It can change form and moves from place to place.
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
- Energy flows naturally from high concentrations to low concentrations in an attempt to equalize. Ex. heat goes to cold, wet moves to dry, high air pressure moves to low air pressure.
Heat Transfer
- Heat is a form of energy. Heat loss or gain occurs three ways:
Conduction
- Transfer of heat through solid materials between objects in contact.
Convection
- The flow of heat through a fluid substance, such as air or water.
Radiation
- Transfer of heat from warm object to cool object that are in sight of one another but not in contact. heat energy via invisible light rays
Insulation
- Trapped air. Various materials are used to create, or attempt to create, tiny pockets of air slowing heat transfer through a space or material.
Moisture Control
- Water is one of the biggest enemies to homes when left unchecked. Most effective to control bulk moisture at its source. Prevent or reduce rain water from pooling and entering foundation.
Relative Humidity
- The amount of water in a sample of air. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air. Condensation occurs when warm air that is saturated comes in contact with a surface that is cool enough to meet dew point and the water in vapor form returns to its liquid state.
Humidity Control
- Dehumidify damp spaces. Use vent fans that exhaust to the exterior of the building at the source of humidity in bathrooms and kitchens.
Importance of Air Sealing
- Over course of one year, a 100 square foot wall can allow ONE CUP of water to diffuse through drywall with no vapor barrier. But if a HALF INCH hole is present, FIFTY CUPS of water can pass through by convection.
Thermal Envelope/Boundary
- Refers to location of insulation in the building shell. Should be continuous and preferably aligned with pressure boundary.
Pressure Boundary
- The air barrier that separates indoor air from outdoor air. Should be continuous and airtight and preferably aligned with thermal boundary.
R-value
- How well a material resists heat transfer. Measured in a laboratory at 75 degrees once material has reached steady state... and... [link to article R-Fairy Tale] U-value – how fast heat moves through a material. Inverse of R. U = 1/R
Effective R-value
- Whole wall r-value concept.
Stack Effect
- The natural effect when a building is heated, and the warm air inside the building is less dense than the colder air outside. The warm air rises up and out of any holes in the upper portions of the envelope. The escaping air is replaced with outside air that enters through holes in the lower portions. Air sealing helps minimize this loss.
- nges the other items must adjust.
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Insulation 
