HEAT INSULATION

SUBMITTED BY-
AMISHA TATER
ROBIN SHARMA
SAKSHI VERMA
KHADAR BABU
B.ARCH 5 (D)
FOAP - JNU
How Heat Is Transmitted?
Conduction: the transmission of heat from one molecule to another within a material or
from one material to another when they are held in direct contact.

Convection: the transfer of heat by another agent,

such as air or water.

Convection Currents: the flow of air that is

created within the space.

Radiation: the transmission of heat through a

wave motion, similar to the way light is transmitted.
Thermal Insulation of
Building
■ Law of Heat Transfer:
■ Heat flows from the higher level to lower level.
■ In building the heat transfer takes place form the hotter
area to the cooler zones.
■ Heat flows as per the capacity of the building materials or
units like floors, walls, roofs, doors, windows.
■ The property is measured in “thermal transmittance
■ In summer the heat transfer is from the out side to inside
and in winters the process is reversed.
General Principle of Thermal
Insulations
1. The materials used in the construction should have a high
degree of heat resistance per unit of thickness i.e. the
materials should have adequate heat insulation value and low
heat conductivity.
2. The thermal resistance of the material directly varies with its
thickness and hence depending upon the insulation desired,
the material of an adequate heat insulation values and
adequate thickness should be used.
3. The provision of air space in materials for walls roof ,ceiling
etc. offers very good insulation against heat transmission. The
presence of air spaces in materials incenses thermal
insulation, where as the presence of the moisture decreases
the this value.
The thermal insulation of the building in general and of doors
and windows in particular depends on its orientation w.r.t
movement of sun. The building should be so located that there
is min transfer of solar heat during the day in summer and the
is max transfer of solar heat during the day in winter.
Thermal insulation to some extent can be achieved by
adopting general measures such as –use of sun shading
devices like sun breakers, etc., increasing the height of
ceiling (about 1 to 1.3 m abv. The occupants’ height), increase
the height of the parapet walls when the altitude angle of the
sun is low etc
Thermal Insulation Facts
■ Fibrous materials are generally good insulators
■ Commercial insulation materials are made of-
i. Glass fibers
ii. Glass foam
iii. Mineral fibers
iv. Organic fibers
v. Foamed plastic
Characteristics of a good
insulation material
• fireproof
• insect proof
• moisture proof
• resistant to any physical change that
would reduce its effectiveness against
heat flow.
Selection of insulation is
based on-
Initial cost
Effectiveness
Durability
Adaptation of its form to that of the
construction and installation methods
 Heat Loss Coefficients
British Thermal Unit: Btu, the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature
of 1 pound of water to 1 degree Fahrenheit.

Coefficient of Thermal Conductivity: k, the amount of heat, in Btu’s,

transferred in one hour through 1 sq. ft. of a given material that is 1” thick and has a
temperature difference between its surfaces of 1 degree Fahrenheit.

Conductance: C, the amount of heat that will flow through the material in 1 hour /
sq. ft. of surface with a 1 degree Fahrenheit of temperature difference.

Resistance: R, the opposite of conductivity or conductance. A good insulation

material will have a high R- value.

Total Heat Transmission: U, represents in Btu / sq. ft. / hour with 1 degree
temperature difference for a structure which may consist of several materials or spaces.
disadvantages
 disadvantages

infiltration
Spray Polyurethane Foam
(SPF) Insulation
■ A two component mixture comes together at the tip of a gun, and
forms an expanding foam that is sprayed onto concrete slabs, into wall
cavities of an unfinished wall, against the interior side of sheathing, or
through holes drilled in sheathing or drywall into the wall cavity of a
finished wall.

Sometimes also called Foamed-In-Place

Insulation
Rigid panels/Insulation
Rigid panel insulation is made from fibrous materials
(fiberglass, rock and slag wool) or from plastic foam.
They are sometimes sold in sections designed to fit
tightly in standard wall cavities.
Rigid polyurethane /
Polyisocyanurate (PUR/PIR)
■ Rigid polyurethane / Polyisocyanurate (PUR/PIR) foam Rigid polyurethane foam (PUR/PIR)
is a closed-cell plastic. It is used as factory made thermal insulation material in the form
of insulation boards or block foam, and in combination with various rigid facings as a
constructional material or sandwich panel. Polyurethane in-situ foams are manufactured
directly on the building site.

Polyurethane – a versatile material Rigid polyurethane foam insulation materials

(PUR/PIR)
Insulated Concrete
Forms( ICF)
■ ICFs are hollow, light-weight "stay in place“
forms made of two Expanded Polystyrene
(EPS) panels which are connected by
polypropylene webs. During construction,
the forms are stacked to the desired
height then filled with concrete making
stable, durable and sustainable walls.
Oriented strand board,
(OSB)
■ Oriented strand board, (OSB) or Sterling board (UK),
is an engineered wood product formed by layering
strands (flakes) of wood in specific orientations.

Oriented strand board, ( OSB)

Blanket Insulation
■ made from fibrous materials like mineral wool, wood fiber, cotton fiber or animal hair and
manufactured to form a mat with thickness of ½” – 4 “ . Some installed with vinyl
cardboard or wire mesh and is stapled to sides and edges of studs and joists.

Blanket Insulation
Batt Insulation
■ Batts are precut, whereas blankets are available in
continuous rolls.
Components of Batt and
Blanket Insulation
■ Fiberglass is a material made from extremely fine fibers
of glass. Made from molten
glass, usually with 20% to 30% recycled
industrial waste and post-consumer content.

■ Rock and slag wool. Usually made from rock (basalt, diabase)
or iron ore blast furnace slag.
Some rock wool contains
recycled glass. Nonflammable.
Corrugated Insulation
■ Corrugated Insulation from paper formed into shapes that produced enclosed air
pockets into small regular semi – circular corrugations and covering both sides with
sheet of flat paper to give strength and produce the air pockets.
Insulating material should
have the following
properties :
1. It should have high thermal resistance
2. It should be reasonably fire proof
3. It should be insect proof
4. It should be durable
5. It should be non- absorbent of moisture
6. It should be cheaper
7. It should be readily available
Thermal Insulation:

Can be installed in THREE positions:

■ BELOW the deck
■ BETWEEN the deck and the membrane
■ ABOVE the membrane
Flat Roof: Insulation and
Membrane Position
■ A vented air space is mandatory when using batt insulation in a flat roof!! If you use
rigid polystyrene insulation (the blue kind), no air space is necessary as it is
waterproof.
Insulation BETWEEN the
Deck and the Membrane:
Traditional location for insulation:
■ use low density rigid panels to support the
loads on the roof membrane without allowing
puncture of membrane
■ any water vapour trapped in insulation will
cause deck to rot so use topside vents to
relieve pressure
Insulation ABOVE the
Membrane:
New concept offering major advantages:
■ membrane protected from extremes of heat and cold, is on
the warm side of the insulation
■ membrane protected from UV radiation
■ membrane protected from puncture
■ insulation must be extruded polystryrene foam board which
is water resistant and covered with a filter layer to prevent
migration of ballast
Vapour Retarders for Low
Slope Roofs:
■ membrane in a protected membrane roof is also the vapour/air barrier
■ other types of low slope roofs use two layers of asphalt saturated roofing felt
bonded together and to the roof with hot asphalt
■ polyethylene film not used as it melts
■ situated on the warm side of the insulation
Flat Roof: (traditional) vs.
Inverted (newer methodology)
Thermal Insulation and its
advantage.
■ Thermal insulation is retention of temp. with in
the buildings irrespective of the change in
temp.outside the building.
■ It maintains the comfort conditions during
summer the thermal insulation should not
allow the heat to transfer from out side – and
during winters the heat should not leave the
building thus giving comfort for the users.
Prevention of heat transfer in
winter from interior to exterior.
■ The air flow which displaces the hot air
inside the building with the outside cold
air , which usually takes place through
doors, windows , ventilation, etc. should
be controlled.
Prevention of heat transfer in
summer from exterior to
interior.
1. Thermal insulation of external shell like floors, roofs ext. wall
to be adequate.
2. Lesser temp. diff. between outside and inside.
3. Lesser overexposed area of external part of the building.
4. The area of door and window exposed outside should be
minimum. As the heat transfer is 3 time that of the walls, so
the orientation should be w.r.t sun movement.
5. The air space, cracks, openings, etc. should not exit in roof,
walls as heat transfer will take place through air infiltration.