Throughout the 2020/2021 pandemic, just like many people, I’ve taken to binge watching Netflix – most recently I finished the series “The Crown” – for all it’s acclaim or criticism, it depicts one character (the Queen) who is the focus, and all other characters as uncontrolled variables in the story. Now you’re asking what does this have to do with efficiency?... frankly… it has everything to do with energy efficiency!
For years, the construction industry has held a stance that insulating your walls or attic is critically important in your space. There have been several advancements in the type of products and methods used to insulate your home. Industry initiatives and interest groups, supported by various types of government funding, have also incentivized insulating in homes and businesses, to support the long-term goal and create a path towards a more sustainable energy efficient building.
Creating a well insulated building is important, but insulation alone, only improves performance by so much, and builders generally insulate to the building code, or only slightly better. So, how can you improve the performance of the building envelope? Considering insulation mitigates against heat loss through conduction (heat loss through a substance), we need to deal with heat loss through convection (heat loss through a fluid – in this case, through air). In plain terms, stop air from leaking out of the building envelope.
It is a generally accepted rationale that a building with standard insulation and a good degree of air tightness, will outperform a building with a great degree of insulation and poor air tightness. The difference is that when heat loss is mitigated through both conduction and convection, it is truly a combined effort as you are taking multiple steps to improve efficiency.
Air tightness can partially be addressed through manual means; however Airtight Spaces has the technology of AeroBarrier to achieve a desired goal without the extra labour. AeroBarrier is an automated, controllable, high performance system that guarantees a specific level of air tightness in the building envelope. AeroBarrier is the most effective, risk-free, way to alleviate air leakage – providing the owner control and protection for their investment.
Just as “The Crown” has one character who receives the focus – in this case, it is insulation. Many builders focus on insulation for air tightness. It does a good job, however, when other variables become controlled, and they work with the “Crown”, the outcome is a high-performance positive result. Insulation alone does a good job, however addressing and taking control of multiple types of heat loss, unquestionably creates a more energy efficient building.
Curtis Lord
Business Development Manager | Airtight Spaces
airtight@tateengineering.com