PEARLAND Blog

The Building Envelope: How Insulation Provides Support To A Structure

Learning something new about your home can often lead to quality of life improvements and cost reductions. When it comes to your building envelope and improved insulation, updated material and improved coverage can increase your energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and more. The building envelope directly contributes to a climate-controlled environment and the strength of your home; as such, keeping it well insulated is crucial to maintaining the integrity of your home's structure and safety.

Your Building Envelope

A building envelope is a divide between the interior of a structure and the outside. The primary purpose of supporting a building envelope is to help improve the interior's climate control. The exterior system of a building envelope includes your home's windows, doors, roof, floor, and even the foundation and insulation. If you're experiencing irregular temperatures, reduced indoor air quality, and air leaks, the structure could be suffering from a poorly cared-for building envelope.

When you and your household work to improve the climate control of your home, this not only increases your energy efficiency but can also reduce potential health risks. With updated insulation and air sealing, unwanted heat is kept out during the summer and desired warmth is trapped inside during winter. This can contribute significantly to reduced stress put on the HVAC system, which reduces your energy waste, and it also helps to reduce air leaks that let in outdoor pollutants, pests, and allergens. Although the primary function of a building envelope is to maintain a climate-controlled interior, it also supports the strength of a building's structure in order to improve how well it handles external forces and weight.

Regulate Heat Transfer with Insulation

Insulation is one of the primary support systems for your home’s building envelope. The material contributes to improving the strength and efficiency of the structure while also impacting the climate control capabilities of a building. This is because insulation material and a building envelope share a common goal: regulating temperature throughout the structure. You’re more than likely already familiar with attic insulation, but did you know that insulation is actually installed through the structure? Various materials, like blown-in, batts, and spray foam, are applied within the walls, floors, between ceiling joists, and even around your basement and crawl spaces. The Department of Energy has a breakdown of guidelines and basic requirements for insulating a home, although the specific needs and codes will vary depending on where you live.

The primary function of insulation material is to reduce the rate at which heat can travel in and out of a building, which is known as heat transfer. The effectiveness of a material’s ability to slow heat transfer is measured using the insulation’s R-value, which is short for resistance value. This numerical value will depend on the material (fiberglass, cellulose, spray foam, etc.) and the type (batt, blown-in, etc.). For example, blown-in fiberglass has an average R-value of 2.7 per inch but fiberglass batts can have an R-value between 3.1 and 3.7. To learn more about calculating R-value and its effects on heat transfer, check out Koala Insulation’s explanation in How Insulation Works.

The insulation and air sealing throughout your home aren't just there to prevent the outdoor temperature from impacting your environment inside the home. These materials are installed throughout the building to also regulate temperatures between each room and even between different floors. If you have a room or even an entire side of the house that won't stay as warm or cool as the rest of your home, this could be because of deteriorated, damaged, or poorly installed insulation and air sealing. Although some materials can potentially last up to 15 years, there are a number of factors that contribute to an increased rate of deterioration, including pests, moisture, and other disturbances that have been left for too long.

How Does Insulation Support A Building Envelope?

Your home’s building envelope gets a significant boost from insulation material that has been properly installed with sufficient and effective coverage. Insulation works together with the building envelope to improve temperature regulation, maintaining the interior climate control while reducing the impact of outdoor temperatures. Most materials also contribute to the safety and integrity of the building envelope. Many types of insulation have natural properties or are chemically treated to resist moisture, fire, and pests. When your home is affected by mold growth, bacteria, infestation, and heat damage, your building envelope is put in danger along with your insulation material. These damages can significantly increase the rate of deterioration of the material and compromise the structural integrity of your building.

Additionally, other materials even have the ability to support the structural integrity of your structure. For example, closed-cell spray foam is rigid when installed in the walls and ceiling, providing additional strength to the joists and surfaces it's applied. It also has an average R-value of 6.9 per inch, which is one of the highest values out of the common materials. This means less needs to be applied to resist the transfer of heat. When choosing the right insulation material to support your building envelope, it's important to consult an industry expert that can point you in the right direction for cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions that meet the unique requirements of your home.

Ask Us Your Insulation Questions!

At Koala Insulation of Pearland, our insulation professionals are dedicated to bringing our communities cost-effective and energy-efficient solutions. We understand that for many homeowners, the knowledge of insulation benefits typically ends with what's in their attic. However, at Koala Insulation, we believe that having a better understanding of your home's needs and the materials that can meet these requirements will improve the environment for you and your household.

Our industry experts offer free evaluations that break down the current condition of your home’s materials. By having an in-depth investigation conducted on your home’s insulation and air sealing, you can make informed decisions on where you may need to make immediate upgrades and which projects you can schedule for future consideration. This gives you the opportunity to take into account your current schedule and budget without neglecting any target pain points. For more information on how insulation and air sealing can impact your environment, contact Koala Insulation of Pearland today and schedule your free evaluation.