Considerations When Choosing Insulation for Your Home

Insulation buffers a house from outside weather extremes, helping it to retain a constant temperature. It also reduces heating and cooling costs. Here are several considerations regarding residential insulation.

How Insulation Works

Bulk insulation works by forming a barrier filled with tiny air pockets that hinder the transfer of heat through the product. The bulk prevents heat from moving in either direction; in summer, it will block incoming heat, and in winter, it will hinder outgoing warmth generated by your heater. Thus, bulk insulation helps in all seasons.

Another type of insulation is reflective foil insulation, which bounces heat back in the direction it's emanating from. For this reason, foil insulation is a popular choice for roofs, used to deflect solar heat away from a house.

Particular Forms of Insulation

Bulk insulation products form a chunky barrier. They come in various forms, such as batts, which can be placed between ceiling or floor joists or within the walls. Bulk insulation consists of materials such as polyester, wool, rock wool, glass wool, and cellulose fibre.

You can also get loose-fill bulk insulation, which can be pumped into cramped spaces. A foil blanket, which can be placed under the roof cladding, provides another insulation option. These blankets often double up as bulk insulation, being filled with insulating material as well as having a reflective top layer.

Safety

Safety should be borne in mind when installing insulation, particularly within the ceiling cavity, which contains electrical wiring and lighting. Often, the insulation contractors will have their electrician check the safety of the wiring to ensure that the insulation doesn't present an electrical fire risk. If your home has recessed ceiling lights, they may need protective barriers to separate them from the insulating material.

Access

Access can present a challenge when fitting insulation in different areas of a home. With a new building, access is not a problem as the contractors incorporate the insulation as the structure develops. However, access to existing buildings can be trickier.

For example, how can the insulation contractors gain access to a wall space? One way is to pump loose-fill insulation into the walls via a hole drilled into the wall or via removed roof tiles.

Additionally, what about the narrow space provided by a peaked cathedral ceiling, which doesn't have an open ceiling cavity? In these situations, an insulation board made of polystyrene can be slotted into the narrow space available.