How Insulation Works
Heat always travels towards cooler areas. The highest percentage of heat transfer occurs via the roof and ceiling, so it’s most important to insulate here. Insulation materials work by affecting some or all of the below three ways of heat transfer:
• Conduction is the direct transfer of heat through solid materials e.g. house roof
• Convection involves the transport of heat via the movement of gases or liquids. You’ll feel convection taking place in a two-storey house — the heat rises from the lower floor to the top
• Radiation is the transfer of heat across space from a warm body to a cold one — an example is the heat emitted by a bar radiator
Insulation acts as a barrier to heat flow, reducing the amount of heat entering from outside your home when it’s hot in summer, and trapping warmth inside your home during winter when it’s cold outside.
A well insulated and well designed home will provide year-round comfort, cutting cooling and heating bills by up to half. This, in turn, will reduce greenhouse emissions
R-value - what is it?
The R-value of a material describes its thermal resistance — how much the material inhibits the transfer of heat. The higher the R-value, the more effective the level of insulation.
With bulk materials, the thickness of the product is the key factor in determining its R-value. The R-value you’ll need depends on your particular climate. Our products are compliant with all the area’s we service which is R3.0 rating.
R-values can be measured depending on the direction of heat flow (upward or downward). They’re known as ‘up R-values’ (resistance to upward heat flow, also called winter R-values) and ‘down R-values’ (resistance to downward heat flow, also known as summer R-values).
Product R-value is the R-value of the product on its own.
