Unit 301: Principles of organising, planning and pricing construction work

City & Guilds Construction
© 2013 City and Guilds of London Institute. All rights reserved. 1 of 16
PowerPointpresentation
Insulating materials
Unit 301: Principles of organising, planning and
pricing construction work

Aims and objectives
Aim:
• Introduce learners to estimating for insulation materials
Objectives:
• Explain why we insulate buildings.
• Evaluate the uses of thermally insulated materials.
• State where heat is lost in a house.
• Describe construction methods used to insulate against heat loss
and gain.

Introduction
Electricity bills, oil bills, gas bills – all householders pay for one or more
of these utilities, and wish they paid less. Often many of us do not really
know how to control or reduce our utility bills. We resign ourselves to
high bills because we think that is the price we have to pay for a
comfortable home.
We are encouraged to turn off the lights and appliances, but may not
recognise the benefits of insulating the attic.

Heating and cooling
Heating and cooling (‘space conditioning’) accounts for 50–70% of the
energy used in the average home. About 20% goes on heating water.
On the other hand, lighting and appliances and everything else account
for only 10–30% of the energy used in most residences.
It makes good sense to turn lights and appliances off when they are not
needed, and you’ll save even more on your energy costs if you reduce
the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling.

Why we insulate our homes
Insulating your house helps to maintain a comfortable living
environment by maintaining inside temperatures and reducing
energy costs.
The main purpose of insulation is to create a barrier around the building
– that is, over the roof, on the walls and beneath the floor – which
reduces the amount of heat entering the home on a warm day, and
also reduces the amount of heat lost on a cold day.
The diagram illustrates the
different ways in which heat and
cooled air are lost in a typical house.

Thermally insulated materials
Phenolic insulation
This provides maximum thermal performance with minimum insulation
thickness, making it perfect for rooms where space is at a premium.
PUR/PIR insulation
Polyurethane insulation is versatile, lightweight and has high
performance in thermal conductivity. Is used in cavity walls and floors.

Thermally insulated materials continued
Glass insulation
A range including glass wool insulation, Spacesaver rolls and cavity
wall slabs for use in lofts, partition walls and timber frame
constructions.
Rockwool insulation
Rockwool insulation has excellent thermal,
acoustic and fire resistance properties
and is suitable for walls, floors and roofs.

Multi foil insulation
• Easy and quick to install, multi foils require
comparatively little space while also reducing
radiant heat transfer effectively with
polyethylene coated layers.
• Used under flooring, on roofs and around
timber structures.
Vermiculite insulation
• Ideal for use as chimney backfill, pipe lining, roof and floor
insulation.
• A lightweight, affordable, fireproof alternative to foam and earthwool.

Acoustic insulation
You can create a quieter environment using various acoustic insulation
products for walls and floors.
Extruded polystyrene insulation
This versatile product can be cut to shape and installed in cavity walls
and under floors to give acoustic and thermal insulation.

Expanded polystyrene insulation
Expanded polystyrene has excellent thermal insulation properties
and is lightweight and cost effective. It can be used for walls, floors
and roofs.
Vapour resistant insulation
Moisture vapour in rooms such as bathrooms can
cause dampness. Vapour
control boards can help
prevent this problem.

Cavity closers, socks and DPCs
PVC-U cavity closers are the simplest and most effective way to seal cavities
around wall openings. Socks have acoustic properties.
Pipe insulation
This reduces heat losses by up to 87% and has Class O fire performance. It
can be used to lag all existing exposed pipework.

Construction methods
Structural response times
The thermal performance of a building depends on:
• The level of thermal insulation, which affects heat loss.
• The thermal capacity of the construction, which affects the time the
building structure takes to heat up and cool down .
• The position of the insulation, which affects the temperature profile
through the construction.

Construction methods continued
Lightweight construction
Lightweight constructions are those with low thermal capacity. They
respond quickly to temperature changes in the surroundings. They are
preferred in situations where heating is intermittent, because surface
temperatures, which affect thermal comfort, increase rapidly.

Heavyweight construction
Heavyweight constructions (those with high thermal capacity, such as
stone and brick buildings) take much longer to heat up. This can be
useful where heating is constant (eg in hospitals) and in summer
conditions, when heavyweight constructions can smooth out the peak
afternoon outdoor air temperatures.
A heavyweight construction can be transformed into a lightweight one
by the addition of insulation to the internal surfaces (dry lining of walls,
carpeting, etc).

The main construction methods used to insulate against heat loss and
heat gain are:
• location of insulation
• selection of materials
• compliance with Building Regulations
• position of building
• position of doors and windows.

Any questions?

Unit 301: Principles of organising, planning and pricing construction work

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