Low Energy House - House Insulation - Home Insulation

In order to maintain comfortable conditions inside a house, without wasteful use of the heating system, the insulation in the roof, external walls and ground floor must provide a continuous barrier to the passage of heat to the external air

House Insulation - Loft Insulation

Loft insulation is required to delay the escape of warm air, from the heated parts of the house, through the roof. Typically, loft insulation is installed in two layers.

The first layer is laid between the timber joists at the loft floor level. Because heat can be lost through the joists themselves a second layer of insulation is laid across the top of the joists, at right angles to them.

House Insulation - Rafter Insulation

To create a heated room in a roof space, rafter insulation will be required. Because heat can be lost by conduction through the roof timbers themselves, additional insulation is required above or below the rafter line. The relative thicknesses of the two insulating layers will depend on the thermal value of the selected insulating material.

House Insulation - Insulated Cavity Walls

Cavity wall insulation must be installed to delay the escape of warm air, from the heated parts of the house, escaping through the external walls. In recent years, because Building Regulations have demanded higher standards of thermal insulation in buildings, wider cavities have been created to accommodate more thermal insulation.

House Insulation - Suspended Ground Floor Insulation

In suspended timber ground floor construction, care is needed to minimise the draughts from the ventilated space beneath the floor. Timber battens and ply board supports, or proprietary netting supports, are constructed between the joists. Quilt, loose fibre or rigid board insulating material is then laid on the supports. To prevent air movement through the floor, an airtight breather membrane is fixed to the underside of the joists and turned up at the edges.

House Insulation - Solid Ground Floor Insulation

Solid ground floors can have high density rigid board insulation fitted above the concrete slab or below the concrete slab. If insulation is installed above the slab, the building will heat up and cool down quickly in response to the heating system. If the insulation is installed below the slab the thermal capacity of the building will be increased and the solid floor structure will absorb heat and release it into the rooms gradually over a period of time.

It is essential to find the most effective way of insulating external building elements to the highest affordable standard. In addition to the environmental benefits of energy saving, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions, insulation will increase comfort inside the dwelling