Improving the insulation of your home: 5 key points
You wish to improving the insulation of an old or poorly insulated house but you don't know how to do it? Alpisorenov offers you 5 key points to achieve this!
Insulating the roof
As heat naturally tends to rise, the roof is the main source of energy loss, accounting for 30%. It is very important to insulate your roof properly, for example by using glass wool or rock wool between the rafters of your roof structure.
If you have an attic, it is also important to insulate it. A layer of insulation laid on the floor will prevent this uninhabited part of your home from being heated.
Avoiding thermal bridges
It is estimated that walls account for over 20% of heat loss. It is therefore essential to insulate them properly.
Be careful if you want to insulate your walls, it is preferable to choose external insulation. Inside, you will be hampered by internal partitions, which will prevent you from installing your insulation around the entire perimeter of your home. This will result in thermal bridges which will considerably reduce the efficiency of your work.
This is not a problem with external insulation, which gives you a real protective envelope over the whole of your walls.
Choosing high-performance windows
When it comes to improving window insulation, the first thing that comes to mind is double glazing. Certainly, if you still have old single-glazed windows, you should switch to double-glazing.
In terms of technical characteristics, the best models reach :
- Insulation performance coefficient of double glazing (Ug): up to 1.0 W/m².K
- Overall window insulation performance coefficient (Uw): up to 1.2 W/m².K
In addition, the importance of frames should not be underestimated. For example, wooden uprights will be more effective for thermal insulation than those made of aluminium. The same applies to sound insulation.
Optimise all external joinery
Although windows are an important part of the insulation of a house, other joinery should not be forgotten...
The entrance door, for example, is an element to be chosen with care. Similarly, the garage door is often a significant source of heat loss because it is neglected. It is a pity to worry about the various exterior elements of your house if the cold easily enters your garage which is adjoining.
Finally, it is important to remember that shutters are not only elements that protect you from the outside world and the sun's rays in summer. They are also a complement to the insulation of your windows.
To be ecologically responsible
Insulation is not only about the building and technical solutions... It is also important to remember that insulation is a daily struggle against small heat losses.
Par exemple si vous constatez un jour une infiltration d'air au niveau de votre porte d’entrée, pensez à poser un bas de porte ou un boudin isolant pour éviter l’infiltration d’air extérieur. Si vous voulez aérer votre maison, attendez le moment de la journée le plus chaud pour minimiser la perte de chaleur. Soyez vigilant à ne pas laisser vos fenêtres entre-ouvertes…
All of these simple actions will have a significant impact on your heating bill.
