Insulation Perth keeps the indoor temperature comfortable cuts energy costs, and helps create a healthy home environment. It slows heat transfer to minimize summer air escaping and reduces heating bills in winter.
Insulation can be installed in attics or walls in various ways. The type you choose depends on your climate zone, R-value requirement, and DIY capability.
Fiberglass is among the most common types of insulation used to regulate temperatures within homes. It’s a relatively inexpensive material that helps reduce energy costs over time. It also has an excellent R-Value and lasts a long time, making it a good choice for homeowners.
This artificial insulation consists of tiny glass fibers and plastic resins to form a solid. This makes it resistant to moisture and airflow, preventing mold growth and allowing the fiberglass to retain its insulating properties. It can be formed into a variety of shapes and sizes for different applications. Most often, it’s sold in batts, which are blanket-like sheets of insulation stapled into place. It’s also available as a blown-in product, where bags of loose fiberglass fill are blown into walls, floors, and attics to create a thermal barrier.
When properly installed, this material poses few health concerns, although getting fiberglass in the eyes or lungs can be irritating. It’s important to wear a mask and protective goggles during the installation process, particularly when handling cut or sawed pieces of fiberglass insulation. It’s also important to check with your local waste management service to see if they accept fiberglass for recycling.
The insulating principle of fiberglass insulation is to trap air in pockets between its small filaments. This is the same principle that’s used in natural insulators like down feathers and wet suit neoprene foam fabrics, but it’s been applied in large-scale production to make man-made fiberglass insulation more effective than its predecessors.
During the manufacturing process, fiberglass insulation is treated with chemicals to protect against pests and to increase its fire resistance. However, these chemicals can leach into the surrounding environment if the fiberglass is exposed to the elements for an extended period of time. Some homeowners choose to opt for a more environmentally-friendly alternative, such as mineral wool or cellulose. While these alternatives may require more maintenance, they provide superior insulating performance that can reduce energy bills by up to 40% annually. They’re also safe for the environment, providing a longer-term cost savings than traditional fiberglass.
Mineral Wool
Mineral wool is a fibrous material that is available in semi-rigid batts and sheets. It is made from rock, glass or slag and comes in a variety of thicknesses, R-values and forms. It is a good choice for new construction and remodeling because it provides high levels of thermal resistance, does not degrade over time, and has excellent sound insulation.
It also resists moisture, unlike fiberglass or cellulose. This prevents mold and mildew and eliminates the need for expensive repairs or replacements. Mineral wool is made from recycled materials and has a relatively low embodied energy, especially when it is derived from steel or iron ore slag, which reduces the emissions of toxic gasses.
One problem with mineral wool is that it is more expensive than fiberglass. A standard R-15 batt of fiberglass for a 2×6 wall will cost about $0.51 per square foot; the same amount of mineral wool will cost about $0.64 per square foot. However, this higher price is offset by lower installation costs. The density of mineral wool makes it easier to install and to cut precisely around outlets, pipes and other obstacles that would be difficult to work with in fiberglass.
The high-density nature of mineral wool also means it is more resilient than other types of insulation, and it retains its R-value if it does get wet. This is a significant advantage over fiberglass, which can lose its effectiveness if it gets wet and must be replaced.
In addition to its high R-value, mineral wool is a good sound insulator. It works by absorbing sound energy and dissipating it as heat. This is accomplished by allowing the fluctuations of air molecules to move within the fabric of the insulation. This friction between the particles and the material’s narrow, flexible passageways causes the vibrations that create sound to disappear.
Like fiberglass, mineral wool is made of a mix of natural and recycled materials. However, those focused on green building often point to the use of formaldehyde in binders in some mineral wool products. This is true, but most major manufacturers have switched to alternative binders. These alternatives are safer for installers and provide the same performance as their predecessors.
Cellulose
Cellulose is a plant fiber that’s used to insulate, draught proof and reduce noise transmission. It’s primarily made from recycled paper and wood fibre mass and may contain resins or other binder. It’s available as loose fibres to be manually applied or in a fabricated panel. Blown cellulose insulation (dry or wet) is commonly installed in new construction and retrofits in wall cavities, attics and other open spaces. It requires specialised blowing in equipment.
Dry cellulose is most often used in retrofit applications where holes are drilled into the existing wall and the cellulose is blown in. The cellulose can also be applied to the inside of the framing walls in new construction, where it is secured with temporary retainers and clamps that are removed once the cellulose has settled. Wet-spray cellulose is a wet application that uses water and a binder compound to stick the cellulose to wall components, making it more effective at filling voids and reducing air leakage. It’s less labor intensive than dry cellulose but does require the use of temporary retainers and netting to ensure that wet cellulose doesn’t migrate out of the cavity.
In addition to its thermal properties, cellulose is an excellent acoustic insulator. It’s particularly well suited to blocking sound from moving between rooms and floors within the home. It is also known as a “green” product because it can be recycled after use and because the cellulose insulation industry is relatively carbon-neutral.
Because of its fire resistance, cellulose is a better choice than fiberglass for some applications. This is because cellulose can prevent the spread of fire from one area to another by effectively choking the wall cavities of combustion air. Additionally, cellulose can absorb and disperse fire-related smoke and vapors more effectively than fiberglass. It’s important to note that despite its fire safety, not all building codes accept cellulose as a substitute for fiberglass batt insulation. Ultimately, the final decision should be based on the specific requirements of each building code and the needs of the homeowner or business owner. Fiberglass, on the other hand, is approved by all codes and can be found in both loose-fill and batt form. It doesn’t create dust during installation and is less prone to mold and mildew growth than cellulose.
Polyurethane Foams
Polyurethane foams are a highly versatile, resilient and durable insulation material. They are also a very cost effective option. They have high tensile strength and good elasticity. They are resistant to water, oils and many other chemicals.
There are two main types of polyurethane foams: flexible and rigid. Flexible PU foams are used for cushioning and acoustic and force dampening, while rigid PU foams are used for construction and thermal insulation.
Rigid sprayed polyurethane foam is one of the most effective forms of insulation, thanks to its very high thermal behavior in relation to its thickness. This makes it one of the most energy-efficient methods of insulating a house, which translates into lower heating bills.
Unlike the one-part, open-cell foams that you can buy from DIY stores, sprayed polyurethane foam has been specifically designed to meet the needs of very specific applications. This has allowed manufacturers to produce a wide range of formulations for a variety of different uses. These variations include addressing the reaction rate, component compatibility, final density, fire retardancy, acoustic properties, and tensile strength.
Homeowners have become increasingly receptive to this modern method of insulating their houses. The sprayed polyurethane foam insulation can be applied quickly and with minimal disruption to the house. This is particularly attractive to people who want to save money on their heating and cooling costs while maintaining a comfortable living environment.
A spray rig truck holds the chemical ingredients needed to create the sprayed polyurethane foam insulation, which is propelled through a long hose to the areas of the house that need to be insulated. The sprayed foam then expands and cures into a solid material within about 24 hours. During the installation process, installers wear personal protective equipment and other people are asked to leave the area.
As a result of the rapid growth of spray insulated homes, several companies have started to manufacture and sell polyurethane insulation products. These products are marketed as “green” because they help to reduce the consumption of natural resources and therefore lessen the impact on our environment.