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Know about Foam and Foam Board Insulation

2011-11-01T01:42:00.001-07:00

A variety of materials like glass, foam, cellulose, aluminum foil etc are used for Attic insulation purposes. But one of the more favored insulation materials is foam. Despite the fact that foam insulation products are costlier than other types of insulating materials, it is widely used.

Higher price may however be deemed justifiable as R-values of the foam insulations range from R-4 to R-8 per inch of thickness. This is roughly three times more than most other insulating materials of similar thickness. It is also seen that if properly installed, foam insulation is a lot more effective than the rest.

When it comes to foam insulation there can be three options - molded expanded Polystyrene (MEPS)/ extruded expanded Polystyrene (XEPS) or Polyurethane or Polyisocyanurate. Any of these should provide you with very effective insulation. Foam insulation can be done as a liquid or using factory made foam boards.

Liquid foam insulation is done either by applying from small spray containers as a liquid or by means of a pressure sprayed product for heavy duty applications. Both types expand and solidify as the chemical mixture cures. Both spray foam and foam boards are equally versatile and can be used to insulate roofs, walls, foundations, entry and overhead garage doors, pipes and tanks, under basement slabs, or over a slab-on-grade floor.

Be it any type of foam insulation, you must take care to protect it from direct sunlight as the sun's ultraviolet rays have the potential to damage them. For roofs, it’s preferable to apply a coating of tar/ acrylic/ silicone/ rubberized paint. Or else, you can also cover the foam with a rubber or plastic membrane or a layer of asphalt and roofing felt.

Foam board insulation is very effective in preventing the oppressive summer heat from penetrating into your home. It also would help you conserve energy and save on your utility bills. Foam board insulation is a rigid foam sheet, usually four by eight feet (1.2 by 2.4 m) in size, used in nearly all aspects of building construction to provide thermal resistance in floors, ceilings and walls.

Polyurethane and Polyisocyanurate foam board are very similar in content. Foam board insulation is usually placed between the exterior finish and the studs of exterior walls. To prevent air infiltration, it is necessary to place rigid insulation boards tightly together and seal the seams with tape or caulk. Polystyrene foam board insulation is done in much the same way as Polyurethane and Polyisocyanurate foam boards, except for the differences in expansion.

Please bear in mind that foam board insulation is susceptible to deterioration through exposure to sun. Though foam insulation offers no food value to insects, still insects can bore holes into it. Therefore it will be necessary for you to take appropriate precautionary measures to protect your insulation from sun and insect damage.

Foam insulation is not easily combustible but if ignited, it burns and emits dense, black, smoke containing pernicious toxic gases. Because of these inherent perils, foams used for construction will require a covering as a fire barrier.

A lot of precaution is necessary to install foam insulation. You may have to use a mask helmet and gloves. It is even advisable to cover your whole body as foam is hyper allergen and it could lead to dermatological problems. It is wiser that you hire an experienced professional to do the job as the health risk is quite high.

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Solar power vents attics benefits

2011-10-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

Solar powered attic vents can be used to control heat and moisture. Today there are alternatives to roof louvers that are smart and effective. The solar varieties work of the principle of solar energy. These collect the energy from the rays of the sun during your day when your attic is at its warmest. Using this energy, it generates electricity. This electricity is used to operate an extremely high energy efficient motor that is placed inside the power vent. So what does this mean to you? You are generating free electricity and getting free power! You are not only reducing the total usage of electricity in your house but you are also using a source of energy that is renewable and works without leaving waste.

There are many types. The roof mounted is one of them. This has a durable high quality two piece construction. This utilizes a solar panel that will collect the rays from the sun and convert it into electricity. This unit will be used to operate a 24 volt DC motor that is housed in the inside of the power vent. These units are rust resistant and a have a steel dome that is galvanized. These are pretty low profile too. The solar panels are usually located in a separated location from the dome or the roof. There is no separate electrical outlet or installation that is required. Also this will work from sunrise to sunset without costing you any money.

The next type is the gable mounted type. This type is used in conjunction with the solar gable attic fans. The best part about these solar vents & spray foam insulation is that the installation of them is really simple. There is no electrical hookup required. This will save you all the trouble from finding a low priced electrician because there are no complicated wirings that you would have to deal with. All that you need to do is secure the solar panel and the fan. After they are secure, all that is required is the connection of a simple plug from one to another. These systems can be conveniently mounted on your home’s gable and hidden behind a decorative shutter. Also the solar panel will come with brackets. You can use these brackets to mount it on the roof easily.    The solar panels will absorb the incoming rays of the sun and convert it into electricity.

The main advantage of using solar vents is that you can save tons on the electricity that you would otherwise use on cooling or heating your home. You are not only conserving energy but also you are making use of a renewable source of energy that does not leave any waste behind. Also these will help to prevent moisture damage to your attic. Normally moisture would enter your attic through daily activities like laundry cooking or bathing. This moisture would get into your attic and cause damage. Using such a setup would prevent such damage by preventing them moisture to accumulate in the first place.
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Save electricity bills by using radiant barriers

2011-10-12T23:55:00.000-07:00

Householders own multitude of choices for enhancement that may bump up the value of their home even as improving its comfort.

Are you a home owner and thinking to improve your house completely either by repainting a room or have you thought about projects which could add aesthetic value?

Reduce your house’s heat with the help of radiant barrier as it is easy to use, safe to handle and effectual at plummeting heat loss and it can also turn back the extreme rays of the sun during the summer time and keeping the house cooler too.

Radiant barrier is a comparatively latest item for consumption that consumers are gradually becoming aware of. It has a reflective opus placed in your attic that reflects heat before it enters your home. Just by applying a coat of paint under the decking surface heat could be transferred and it also seals up the cracks and crevices in the wall.

Radiant barriers are materials installed in buildings to condense summer heat gain and winter heat loss, also to cut building heating and cooling energy usage.

The main advantage of attic radiant barrier is that it helps in reducing air-conditioning cooling in warm or hot climates. Radiant barriers generally consist of a slight sheet or veneer of an extremely reflective material, typically aluminum applied to one or double sides of a number of substrate supplies. These substrates consist of Kraft paper, plastic films, cardboard, plywood sheathing, and air infiltration barrier material.

It is expected that a radiant barrier have the potential to slab 97% of the radiant heat immersed through a roof's surface; this can result in a 30-degree cutback in attic or creep space temperature.

Spray foam insulation: It is a general and an essential thing that we insulate our homes to condense speed of heat loss. The insulation is carried by using spray foam in the opening, chink and the crevice such that there is no amend of heat linking the walls of the house and the environment.

Some of the Benefits of Spray Foam Insulation Include:

Reduction in sound diffusion, better environment, Keep Pests Outdoors, reduction in noise levels, Reduction in moisture and the development of Mold, apart from this it also has certain benefits like generating improved environment by plummeting dust, dirt, and pollen, Saving Energy structuring effectiveness & a Green Environment, produces air tight thermal seal, stops air and dampness penetration, Makes your home more comfortable, trim down capacity requirements, maintenance and wear of HVAC equipment.

Attic ventilation keeps the loft cooler in the summer and dry in the winter. Attic ventilation keeps the loft cooler in the summer and dry in the winter. Good exposure to air boosts the act of your insulation, expands the life of your HVAC unit and saves you even more money on energy bills.

Benefits of attic ventilation: it extends the life of your roof, cut downs the load on your HVAC system, stops ice damming in colder regions, and diminishes moisture build-up in the loft.

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A Read up About Attic insulation

2011-10-10T23:58:00.000-07:00

When we are considering attic insulation, there are several factors that we should keep in mind. There are two main types of blow in attic insulation. These two are most commonly used. They are cellulose and fiberglass insulation. Also there is the blow in rock wool insulation but the use of it is not so common.

Cellulose, which is most commonly used, is a natural product of wood. It is primarily made out of natural newspaper. To meet the smoke development and flame spread requirements of today’s building codes; a fire retardant chemical is added to the cellulose. The fiberglass insulation material that is used is the same material that batts or roles of the fiberglass insulation except for the fact that it is chopped or cubed so that it can be easily installed with the help of the insulating blowing machine. The fiber glass insulation will typically consist of 20% to 30% of recycled glass.

The r value of the cellulose that is used is R-3.2 to 3.8 per square inch. The loose filled fiberglass will have an R-value of R-2.2 to 2.7 per inch cube. To achieve the desired R value, you will have to depend on both the depth of the insulation as well as the density.

There are varying R values for ceiling insulation based upon the energy codes as well the climate of your locality. Based on the type of attic that you have, the code requirements may also vary. For example for joist assembled roof assemblies as well as for attics with single rafter may vary. There is a typically a chart on the insulation bag that will have the accurate depths for the various R values.

There are depth markers that are required to be placed in attic space which the WSEC requires to help the inspector and the installer verify the depth of the insulation. These depth markers should be placed within every three hundred square feet of the attic area and these must face towards the attic.

The depth of the insulation is very important; however, checking the density of the insulation is also equally important. The blow in insulation type can be fluffed up after it is installed. This is done so that it meets the required depth without actually meeting the required R value. This will settle over time so that the desired R value is achieved as the R value is lowered after it settles down.

The attic card is the easiest way to document the amount of R value installation. These are usually found stapled near the attic access to the truss. This card will also have information that is cited by the federal trade commission. Sometimes a chart is also attached with this.

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Global Eruption Rocks the Sun

2011-03-04T22:40:00.001-08:00

On August 1, 2010, an entire hemisphere of the sun erupted. Filaments of magnetism snapped and exploded, shock waves raced across the stellar surface, billion-ton clouds of hot gas billowed into space. Astronomers knew they had witnessed something big.

It was so big, it may have shattered old ideas about solar activity.

"The August 1st event really opened our eyes," says Karel Schrijver of Lockheed Martin's Solar and Astrophysics Lab in Palo Alto, CA. "We see that solar storms can be global events, playing out on scales we scarcely imagined before."

Cassini to Sample Magnetic Environment around Titan

2011-03-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

NASA's Cassini spacecraft is set to skim close to Saturn's moon Titan on Friday, Feb. 18, to learn about the interaction between Titan and Saturn's magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble around the planet.

The closest approach will take place at 8:04 a.m. PST (4:04 p.m. UTC) and bring Cassini within about 3,650 kilometers (2,270 miles) of Titan's surface.

As Titan makes a complete 360-degree orbit around Saturn, the relative influence of the sun's illumination and the hot ionized gas trapped in the magnetic bubble changes. These factors are important for understanding the relationship between Titan and Saturn's magnetosphere. It is important to make measurements at a variety of locations in the Saturn magnetosphere, so this flyby will occur in a part of the magnetosphere that has been poorly sampled so far.

Previous flybys have shown the magnetic environment near Titan to be rather variable and unpredictable. For 12 hours before and after closest approach, the Cassini plasma spectrometer instrument will be pointing in a direction to capture ionized gas in the region.

At the same time, Cassini's radio science subsystem will be gathering sensitive gravity data from Titan to improve understanding of the structure of the interior. Collecting data like these will eventually enable scientists to determine whether Titan has an ocean under its crust.

Other instruments will also be collecting data, much of it pertaining to seasonal change. Titan is currently in northern spring, approaching northern summer, and scientists want to know what has changed with the north polar winter vortex weather pattern. The composite infrared spectrometer, for instance, will be mapping temperatures in Titan's stratosphere. The imaging science subsystem will also be monitoring the lakes, clouds and transport of aerosols in the Titan atmosphere.

This latest flyby is dubbed "T74," though planning changes early in the orbital tour have made this the 75th targeted flyby of Titan.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL.