What are the best thermal insulation products and techniques?
The main reason we insulate our homes is to reduce energy use, which in turn increases our living comfort. As a result of this decision, each owner expects to reduce operating costs for energy consumption in the long term and save resources from the monthly financial provision of the home. In many situations, homeowners who have taken this step realize that despite the large financial investment to repair and insulate the home, expectations for a return on investment are not realized. We analyze what could be the reasons behind this problem.
Mass isolation methods and their problems:
Paying high bills for the energy security of the home is most likely due to poor-quality insulation of the building already during construction or its lack in general. Building insulation has been a mandatory standard for over 10 years now, but very often even newer buildings require re-insulation. This is due to the fact that the critical areas where a thermal bridge may appear were not eliminated during construction. That is even at the earliest stage, the most effective methods for its complete removal, which massively happens, were not thought of in modern practice.
This problem challenges owners to look for new solutions to improve home comfort and reduce heating, cooling and air conditioning costs.
When homeowners make the decision to insulate their homes, there are several important points that define the outcomes of the entire process – these are mainly material selection and technological approach. The most popular insulation materials in Bulgaria are EPS and XPS, and the choice of approach depends on the decision whether to insulate the premises from the inside or the outside.
Experts recommend that whenever possible, the insulation should be done from the outside.
In order to achieve maximum insulation efficiency, our goal is actually to insulate the exterior walls and structure from the cold air outside. Achieving this with internal home insulation is virtually impossible because all building envelopes remain subject to the outside temperatures. Of course, insulating the home from the inside achieves some level of thermal insulation, but it will not be completely satisfactory. This is one of the main reasons for insufficient reduction in operating costs, leading to frustration among owners.
Another problem is that internal insulation, apart from not being energy efficient enough, can also create a host of additional problems such as increasing indoor humidity levels and the formation of mold and mildew..
This is due to the fact that the point where the warm air from inside meets the cold air from outside (dew point) is shifted inside the premises and this leads to the formation of condensation. That is, when choosing this method of isolation, the expected comfort of living is impossible to reach, even on the contrary, it can lead to more negative consequences, which in turn become the cause of more costs to deal with these problems.
Then there is the choice to insulate the home from the outside, as it is more efficient, it encloses the external walls and structure by isolating them from the external environment, the dew point is moved to the outside and practically all problems are solved.
How to effectively insulate your home from the outside?
This is the best method to insulate buildings. That is why it is applied in the construction of all new buildings. When we insulate an existing building, however, other reconstruction problems come to the fore, such as shaping the facade and isolating areas such as balconies and loggias, which have a specific geometry and details that are difficult to master.
Even if we completely isolate the facade from the outside, if we do not take a special approach to these areas and we do not insulate them effectively, there can be formed thermal bridge, which allows the access of cold air inside the premises. You can learn more about the thermal bridge phenomenon HERE
One solution in this case is to find a way to "wrap" the entire balcony - top, side and bottom with insulating material, which, however, can significantly endanger the facade or create additional technological problems in the process of its application.
However, there is another more effective solution that can remove completely the thermal bridge and contribute to the 100% effective thermal insulation of your homewhich will minimize all energy costs. Isokorb offers an option for the absolute separation of balconies from the building structure, which physically separates the external elements from the enclosing walls, eliminating the need for their insulation.
In a general reconstruction of the home, this can happen by applying the method of removing the existing balcony and rebuilding it using the Isokorb solution. In addition to contributing to the effective insulation of the home and minimizing costs, the application of this element is also a very good, elegant solution for the facade. When the need to completely "wrap" the balcony is no longer necessary, we have the freedom to choose the most appropriate architectural solution for the facade of our home.
Of course, in the best case, it is good that the thermal bridge is insulated already during the construction of the building. That is why our team strives to give more publicity and information about the existence and insulation of thermal bridges in construction.
Learn more about Schöck Isokorb HERE.
The team of Termomost.bg is pleased to invite you to the 22nd edition of the international business exhibition ''Architectural Building Week'', in which it will participate.
Termomost.bg Termomost.bg is the official representative of Schöck for Bulgaria, offering solutions for the elimination of thermal bridges in construction. Schöck is a company with more than 50 years of experience in the production of ready-to-build construction details.
Visit us from the 30th of March to the 2nd of April 2022 at Inter Expo Center from 10:00 to 18:00 o’clock at our stand A3 in Hall 4, where you can:
➡️learn more about the most technological solutions in the field of energy efficient construction
➡️learn more about Schöck products;
➡️and where we will offer you the best solutions for your needs!
Registration will be active until 23.59 on the 29th of March after which it closes.
Request your invitation here
https://bit.ly/3u5SpUA
Nowadays, the thermal insulation of buildings is an integral part of the overall design process. Ensuring the best and most efficient ways to achieve good energy balance in the homes and public buildings, has become a key undertaking for designers. Thermal insulation plays a particularly significant role in the design of new buildings, which need to be prepared for long-term and efficient operation.
As we all know, architecture is a specific art, where functionality and aesthetics accord.
It is often thought that in order to achieve one, we must compromise on the other, and in many cases this is exactly the case. The architectural profession by its very nature becomes a perpetual search for balances between different components. The relationship between thermal insulation and aesthetics does not differ here.
As early as the emergence of the revolutionary modernist style of its time, architects set out to find ways, in which they could elegantly level the building's exterior and interior spaces. They searched for ways to provide complete freedom for the placement of the overall glazing of the facades, which subsequently became one of the most characteristic features of that style.
Over the last hundred years, architects have been constantly seeking simplification of the transition between inside and outside and achievement of the most elegant and minimalist appearance of buildings.
With the increasing and widespread use of insulation methods, mastering this balance is rising in difficulty for architects. Nowadays, when it comes to thermal insulation and breakage of the thermal bridges that create problems in the room spaces, designers frequently opt for methods, which involve changing the height in the layers between the external and internal space.
In some cases, this is dictated by the type of thermal insulation or the way that it is applied. This creates complications in the free positioning of facades and their glazing, in the installation of balcony railings, and in the choice of flooring. In other words, changes in the geometry and heights of the layers most often lead to compromises with the desired aesthetic and functional results.
There is a belief that we must choose between aesthetics and the correct and effective insulation of buildings.
However, there are revolutionary methods in thermal insulation, which eradicate this problem and provide architects with complete freedom to define the appearance of facades and glazing. Moreover, these solutions do not require compromising the comfort of living in the room spaces, on the contrary - they provide more effective thermal insulation than standard methods.
How does Isokorb provide both comfort and aesthetics?
In the standard case, the material, of which the balcony or loggia are made of, has a higher thermal conductivity than other parts of the building facade. This transforms the balcony itself into a linear thermal bridge that damages the comfort of the rooms heavily.
The most common approach to thermal insulation in these areas is to 'dress' the balcony or loggia with thermal insulation material. In these cases, a threshold to the balconies is already formed in the design, because of the change of height in the room spaces.
In fact, the mass method succeeds in the significant reducement of the effects of thermal bridging. However, the condensation point remains, once again, inside the structure itself. Therefore, it fails to eradicate thermal bridging completely, but only delays the appearance of damp and mold.
What makes Isokorb revolutionary, in these cases, is that by applying it to the architectural and structural design of the building, Isokorb takes the condensation point outside of the structure, which prevents heat loss and mold from occurring in the rooms entirely.
Isokorb is installed in the slab, at the boundary, between the interior room and the balcony, and completely eliminates the need to "dress" with other thermal insulation materials and change the levels and flooring of the rooms. With this product, architects can achieve not only a better living environment for their clients, but also absolute freedom in the design of the facade and balconies.
Laying Isokorb would allow, for instance, the living room and balcony to merge seamlessly during the summer season as one complete space without the presence of a threshold or change in heights. In such a case, the choice of a single flooring would further emphasize the effect of this architectural solution, which is entirely possible without the need to compromise on comfort.
Since antiquity, architects have sought ways to find the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality.
Over the years, the evolution of technology and the needs of the modern man, the architects have constantly sought methods, which would provide them with both of these basic principles of architecture. At such times, technological innovations come to the aid of the modern architect, providing him with newer and smarter ways of dealing with these problems. Isokorb is, yet, another invention that solves a number of problems in both directions with minimal intervention.
?Learn more about Schöck Isokorb HERE.
In modern construction, energy efficiency has become one of the most important factors in the insurance of good living comfort in a home, as well as in the reducement of the cost of household bills. Home insulation is a crucial element in the achievement of superior energy efficiency.
Often, despite the investment of insulation of the home, the result of the implementation does not satisfy the original intentions and the expected outcomes are not achieved. Issues with heat loss persist and household bills are not significantly reduced..
We analyze what the reasons may be behind this trend.
The thermal bridge is a specific zone, which is part of the constructive elements of a building, forming a communication with the outer environment. In this specific zone, the thermal insulation layer is compromised and, for this reason, high thermal conductivity exists, which leads to the loss in heating energy of the outer part of the building.
There is a number of reasons forthe breakage of the thermal insulation layer and the decrease of its functionality. The most important question, however, is how this problem can be avoided or solved.
The comfort of a home, especially in the colder months of the year, is largely due to the temperature of the rooms. Therefore, heat loss from the building has the most massive effect on the functionality of the heating in the home.With a high loss, the efficiency of the heating methods can drop significantly, which would automatically increase household bills or the cost of investment of the chosen heating method.
The greater the temperature difference between the outside environment and the inside of the home, the faster heat loss occurs.
The generated heat energy from the inside of the building is moved to the lower temperature locations, i.e. it is gradually transferred to the thermal bridge area. In this way, it moves from one structural element to another and allows the free movement of heat that is lost to the outside space.
The presence of a thermal bridge in the building causes cold and warm air to circulate through the rooms, creating discomfort and an unpleasant cold environment.
As previously mentioned, heat loss can also become a cause of direct financial lossIn addition, such situations also lead to the formation of condensation in the rooms, which often causes high humidity. In turn, this becomes a serious prerequisite for the formation of mold and mildew on the ceiling of the premises, detaching parts of plaster or plasterboard.
UNPLEASANT CONSEQUENCES OF THERMAL BRIDGE
In the search for high energy efficiency , the goal of specialists is to reduce these areas to a minimum. Poor quality thermal insulation or insufficient attention to critical areas during construction, retrofit or renovation often results in the retention of these thermal bridges. This also becomes the reason why the comfort in the home does not compare to the expected levels of owners and investors the thermal insulation process is started.
Often, this also happens due to ignorance of the latest technologies and materials in building physics.
There are now systems available, which concentrate precisely on the critical areas and offer a range of solutions that improve comfort by cancelling out these problems and at the same time allowing freedom in the design and organization of facade solutions.
In a well-insulated building, thermal bridges are minimized or completely eliminated. One of the most high-tech solutions in this direction is Schöck IsokorbThis is an innovative construction detail made out of steel and EPS insulation material that is housed in the building slab, right at the boundary between the room and the balcony - a critical location for the occurrence of a thermal bridge.
This way, the condensation point remains outside of the structure, which prevents the aforementioned negative effects. This is one of the few solutions that not only reduces the presence of the thermal bridge, but eliminates it altogether, as it "breaks "the direct connection between the building structure and the surrounding external environment.
Learn more about Schöck Isokorb HERE.