Humans have been trying to insulate homes from the elements ever since Ancient Egyptians used mud bricks to try to keep hot summers at bay. Insulation eventually turned to asbestos starting with the Ancient Greeks and going all the way until the 1970s in modern homes. In today’s blog, Valley Insulation discusses how insulation works to protect your home in contemporary times.
Insulation and Heat Transfer
The overall goal of insulation is to prevent the transfer of heat between the outside of your home and the inside. Heat tries to seep out of your home in the winter and into your home in the summer. Installing blow-in cellulose insulation reduces heat transfer by trapping air. This, in turn, helps your heating and air conditioning system work more efficiently.
Types of Heat Transfer
Heat transfer happens in three ways: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is how heat moves through materials, such as when heat travels through concrete, metal, or wood in your home. Convection happens through the air, and it makes warm air rise and cool air sink. Radiation travels in a straight line and heats anything in its path, such as when sunlight heats a window or sheet of metal.
How Insulation Traps Air
Efficient insulation forms a barrier that diminishes the amount of heat flowing due to conduction and convection. This occurs due to air pockets within the material. Insulation needs air pockets to work. Insulation shouldn’t be compacted, nor should it settle too much, because it could reduce the effectiveness of the material. Air movement through insulation lowers its efficiency because heat loss increases due to convection. That’s why spaces in your home should have as little air movement as possible for the material to work properly. Walls, attics, and crawl spaces should be sealed. Nu-Wool is made from cellulose, and it contains enough air pockets to form an effective barrier against heat transfer.
Valley Insulation Protects Your Home
Valley Insulation protects your home or commercial property from heat transfer by installing high-quality insulation in your building. Contact us or give us a call today at (513) 353-4100 to discover what we can do for you.
