One of the most important things to consider when undertaking home improvement projects is insulation. If you improve the insulation characteristics of your home you will make it a better place to live and you can also help the planet by saving the amount of energy you need to heat it up or keep it cool. One such form of insulation is foil insulation. It provides insulation by stopping the transfer of heat by radiation to the outside world. It reflects the energy back into the space that it is emanating from. Reflective foil insulation is dual purpose as it can also be used to act as a water barrier under your roof covering.
Many building materials come with foil face insulation. Rockwool batts and plasterboard are examples. The foil insulation is bonded to the batts and plasterboard making it easier to install the insulation at the time of construction. The foils insulation can come as dual or single layer. If it is dual layer the air pocket captured between the two layers of foil acts as an extra insulation barrier.
If you do use a single layer of reflective foam insulation it will be necessary to use a bulk layer of insulation with it to satisfy insulation regulations in some areas. This should be installed with a 1 inch gap between the bulk insulation and the foil insulation to give best results.
The most common form of foil insulation is aluminium foil insulation. It is popular because it reflects over 90% of the infra-red waves that are directed at it. Because it is so light it has very low conduction properties so a very small percentage of the heat that comes into contact with it is conducted through the aluminium foil insulation to the space beyond it.
Foil bubble insulation is a form of foil faced insulation that is often used when casting the concrete base for a building. It consists of either a single layer of foil insulation with a layer of polyester bubbles attached to it or two layers of foil insulation with the layer of polyester bubbles between them. This form of insulation provides excellent insulative properties and also acts as a barrier to rising damp. It is especially effective when installed beneath underfloor heating. It stops heat from being conducted downwards and reflects it back up to the overlaid floor. An improvement on the single layer of bubbles in foil bubble poly insulation is, obviously, double bubble foil insulation which, unsurprisingly, has two layers of polyester bubbles. This is almost exclusively used in industry applications and is very rarely used in domestic situations.
Another application for foil insulation is behind heating appliances that are mounted on external walls. A layer of foil insulation is simply stuck to the outside wall before the heating appliance is installed. Once the heater is in use the foil faced insulation reflects any heat that is directed towards the outside wall back into the room, thus reducing heating bills.
Whichever form of foil insulation you decide to use it's versatility and ease of use will amaze you.
The most common form of foil insulation is aluminium foil insulation