NW JACKSONVILLE Blog

An Insulation Guide to Building Envelopes in Northwest Jacksonville

An Insulation Guide to Building Envelopes in Northwest Jacksonville

You don’t need to be your neighborhood expert on the building science that goes into maintaining a safe and comfortable home - but you can sure look like one! With the help and support of your local experts at Koala Insulation of Northwest Jacksonville, you can develop a better understanding of improving your environment without the complicated jargon and industry tech. The first step is to understand how to provide your home with the right support to extend its lifespan and reduce your regular bills and maintenance fees.

Your Home’s “Building Envelope”

Your building envelope plays a central role in keeping your home safe and comfortable. This is the boundary between the outdoors and inside the house. The systems that make up the building envelope - windows, doors, the roof, floors, etc. - help with temperature regulation, indoor air quality, and more. Quality materials and regular evaluations help to ensure these systems function properly.

Some of the first lines of defense for your home and its building envelope are insulation and air sealing. These provide support to the system thanks to the fact that their primary function is to effectively regulate temperature and improve the climate control capabilities of a building. Knowing more about these materials can help you understand the necessity of having regular evaluations and maintaining their integrity.

Insulation 101

The insulation in your home reduces the rate at which heat moves through your structure, which is known as heat transfer. During cooler months, this is what keeps desired warmth trapped inside; meanwhile, throughout the summer, it blocks incoming heat that puts your AC to work.

The resistance value of a material measures how effectively a material can slow heat transfer. This numerical value, more commonly referred to as R-value, will differ based on the material and its type. For example, fiberglass can be installed as blown-in material, which has an average of R-2.7 per inch of depth, or batts, which can range in average from R-3.1 to R-3.7.

Air sealing, the opposite side of insulation's coin of efficiency, is a sealant that reduces air leaks throughout the building envelope. Your home will have cracks along the window sills, gaps near the door jambs, and other small holes that allow heat and conditioned air to escape. Outdoor air and pollutants can also come through these openings, contributing to poor indoor air quality. In addition to reducing cold spots and drafts, air sealing also helps to significantly reduce health risks and respiratory irritants.

Keeping Your Household Comfortable

Your building envelope needs to be supported on every level. While insulation and air sealing help to reduce the influence of outside temperatures on the inside of your home, they also contribute to the balance between each room and floor. Have you ever considered one room in your home the “hottest/coldest” in the house? This is one of the most recognizable warning signs that you may need to upgrade your material.

While you may be familiar with the insulation in your attic, did you know you can find it throughout your home, in the walls, under the floorboards, and in between ceiling joists? There are a variety of materials that help to maintain the structural integrity of your building envelope and extend its lifespan. There isn’t a “One Size Fits All” solution for insulation! While the Department of Energy has a breakdown of guidelines and basic requirements to insulate a home, the specific needs and codes for your house can vary depending on where you live.

As mentioned earlier, regular evaluations and maintenance help to reduce damage to the material and your home by catching damages and hidden problems like moisture, pests, and other disturbances. Finding deteriorated materials early on can reduce energy waste and higher bills while also uncovering potential hazards, like mold, rotting wood, or infestation, which break down other systems that support the building envelope.

Support Your Jacksonville Area Building Envelope

In order to provide the best support to your building envelope, you need to have sufficient and effective coverage throughout your home. If you’re only regularly checking and updating the insulation in the attic, you could be missing material in your crawl spaces, air sealing by the windows, and losing heat even from under the stairs!

While your building envelope and its systems help to regulate temperature, they also contribute to the safety and integrity of a building. If your home is affected by festering mold, bacteria, pests, and heat damage, the insulation material isn’t the only thing at risk. When one system suffers, it influences the functionality of the others. The defense around your outdoor access points can begin to fail and create an uncomfortable, stuffy environment - and most of us are still hardly recovered from allergy season!

Learn More About Insulation and Building Science in Northwest Jacksonville

When it comes to maintaining the integrity of your building envelope, you'll want to prioritize cost and energy efficiency alongside comfort and safety. In Northeast Florida, it's important to find a team that understands the balance of reducing your cooling bills while also reducing risks like health hazards, pest infestation, and more. At Koala Insulation of Northwest Jacksonville, we're not only dedicated to bringing our neighbors the cost-effective products they need but also a detailed breakdown of our quality services.

Your home has unique needs that are affected by everything from your local climate zone to regular household habits. If you’re looking for more information on how insulation and air sealing can improve your environment, contact your local insulation experts at Koala Insulation of Northwest Jacksonville today. Schedule a free evaluation to learn more about your home’s current condition and target areas that could increase savings and energy efficiency.