Home insulation is considered an imperative for every household to keep excess use of energy and heating system under control. Crawl space or floor cools down the indoor climate of the house in winter. By laying insulating materials under the floor helps avoiding cold feet in the morning. At the same time, a well insulated floor reduces the use of heating systems with its capacity to prevent heat loss from the home and to bar the entry of cold air through floor area. According to an estimation of Energy Saving Trust, around 15% heat loss is possible from the floor. The materials and methods used for insulating crawl space or floor depends on various factors such as if the targeted space is ventilated and the construction of the building.
Types of Floor Insulation
Several types of materials can be chosen insulating crawl space and they range from fiberglass, foams, wood fibers to paper fibers. Various types of materials may come in various formats such as blank form, loose fill form or in rigid sheet form. The form you insulation you select for insulating your crawl space must be keeping in view of the intended area to be insulated with the floor under your home or the exterior walls.
Regardless of the type of materials chosen to insulate the floor, the function and the way the materials work are similar. All types of materials work by creating a blanket on a cold night by forming a barrier to trap the air around the source of heat and then locks the warm air inside the house. Heat always tenders to radiate and escapes from the source where it is produced. The insulation helps preventing escaping heat from the source.
The performance of the home insulation materials depends upon the efficiency of resisting heat flow. The resistance toward heat flow of a material is measured in R-value. The higher the R-value rating is for a material, the more energy and insulation efficient the product is proven to be. If you are insulating the external walls the fiberglass batt is a good insulator that you can choose. You need to cut the material in order to fit to the wall from the top to the down and a few feet exceeding the ground. When the crawl space has ventilation, insulate the under floor portion.