The main role of the insulation is to resist heat transfer through the building envelope.
Insulation must retain heat inside the building; this resistance to heat transfer to the outside is defined as " thermal resistance ".
When a building is poorly insulated, there are telltale signs such as:
1- Cold floors and walls;
2- High heating costs compared to a well-insulated building of the same size;
3- Significant variation in the temperature of surfaces in the same room;
4- Condensation and mold in the structure of the exterior walls;
Condensation and heat losses
Condensation in the structure is the most common problem when insulation is improperly installed or improperly installed.
However, it should be noted that insulation is not solely responsible for condensation problems and heat loss in the building envelope.
In fact, there are components that play an important role, such as the air barrier and the vapor barrier. The air barrier is on the outside of the wall and the vapor barrier on the inside of the wall.
An improperly installed air barrier allows cold air to enter the structure and cause condensation in the structure.
While a poorly installed or absent vapor barrier leaves the interior moisture penetrate the structure and causes a problem of condensation.
The air barrier and vapor barrier must be properly installed, according to the rules of the art, for the envelope to be effective and function as an integrated assembly.
The goal is to ensure the thermal comfort of the occupants and prevent the formation of mold, condensation and rotting of the wood structure.
Building envelope and thermal resistance
At the time of construction, make sure that the components that make up the building envelope have the adequate thermal resistance stipulated in the Quebec Energy Code in force.
A building engineer should be consulted to calculate the total thermal resistance of the components of the exterior wall and to ensure that condensation (dew point) does not occur in the wooden structure of the exterior walls.
This is to prevent rotting of the structure and the formation of molds and the problems associated with them, such as carpenter ants, infiltration of air or water by the rotten structure, the smell of mold and rotting. etc.
Onesta Tips
1- Using an infrared camera (thermography), we detect problem points in relation to the insulation in the exterior envelope of the building (the points of thermal loss in the envelope).
2- We also drill exploratory holes at identified locations to examine the insulation which may be damp, compacted, poorly installed, inadequate or absent.
3- The building engineer calculates the thermal resistance of the exterior envelope and proposes appropriate solutions (if necessary) to improve the thermal resistance of the building (according to the mandate).
Condensation in insulation