Thermal Envelope in Green Building

Insulation of Green Homes 

The purpose of envelope insulation is to provide a continuous thermal barrier to minimize heat flow through the walls, ceiling and floor. Insulation serves to keep a home comfortable and reduce costs for heating and cooling. The home will not be as comfortable and energy costs will be increased if sufficient insulation is not installed and installed correctly. Although it is not difficult to install insulation accurately, it often is installed incorrectly, such as being compressed or installed with gaps. See passion of green builder.

Recent studies from the U.S. Department of Energy found that over a third of new homes have lower levels of insulation installed than specified and an additional fifth have serious installation problems that result in significantly decreased effectiveness of the insulation. In addition, virtually all of the homes studied were found to have numerous insulation installation defects that reduce the performance of the insulation well below its rated R-value. 

2. Be installed to the proper R-value,

3. Be installed without gaps,

5. Be properly labeled or be proper depth to indicate proper R-value.

6. Insulate correctly for the climate in which it is being installed.

Although the building enclosure contains the thermal envelope, the thermal envelope and the building envelope are not the same.

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    Building Envelope
    Building Enclosure 
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