Using different elements from different EWI systems
At Be Constructive we install lots of different solid wall insulation systems from different manufacturers, from EWI-pro, Insta to Sto – they all have their merits.
What is becoming clear though is that companies are using different elements from different solid wall insulations to carry out jobs, so for example the primers come from one manufacturer, while the renders come from EWI Pro. Remember, these systems have been developed and refined by the manufactures to work together providing you with a great energy saving, protective layer on your home.
Why are installers using different elements from different systems?
Well the main reason is price – as the industry has grown (and the Government backed Green Deal Home Improvement scheme has really helped with this) more companies have entered the market. This has brought some huge benefits to the industry because gone are the days that companies can charge through the nose for works to be carried out. Once example of this is a customer we had that originally received a quote for solid wall insulation 18 months ago for £27000 for just 100m2 of wall, we carried out this job for just under £10,000 which when you included the £6,000 grant took the final cost to the customer to just over £4,000. Obviously this is a good thing – more competition means that these uncompetitive suppliers will be history in the near future!
Most people assume that insulation is something that keeps their home warmer in colder weather. While that is true, the actual impact of insulation is to slow the movement of heat between two spaces. What this means is that during the summer months the insulation will also prevent your home from overheating.
How does insulation works?
To understand why insulation works well in both warm and cold weather, let’s take a look at how insulation actually works.
Bulk insulation, like wool or fibreglass, and indeed our external wall insulation, works by trapping little bubbles of air within the structure of the material. The EPS external wall insulation for example is 98% air, so it is incredibly lightweight!
Air is an extremely good insulator when it is trapped and unable to move around, so by trapping little pockets of air within the insulation, you will actually produce a significant insulating effect. And because this process is about preventing heat transfer, it doesn’t matter if it is warmer outside than inside or colder outside. Either way, the warm air will not travel across that barrier, and the insulation will do its job.
The other type of insulation often used in homes is foil insulation. Rather than trapping air bubbles in its bulk, foil uses its reflective surface to deflect heat. A common place this sort of insulation is found is in loft and roof spaces. Sometimes, you will see a combination of the two, with a shiny foil insulation surrounding a bulky wool-like insulation.
A fantastic but premium solution for external insulation and mitigating the effects of heat in the Summer could be wood fibre insulation. You can install this with a basecoat and silicone top coat – once fully finished provides a decrement layer against the sun’s heating effects in the summer months.
How to maximise the effect of insulation in warm weather
If you have insulated all the critical areas of the home – especially your loft and walls, you are going to have created a good barrier to prevent the heat from getting in on a baking hot day.
There are a few other useful tips, however, that will help ensure the heat stays outside and the cool air is inside!
You could, of course, get an air conditioner, but that would defeat the purpose of insulation as an energy saver, wouldn’t it – so here are some other ways of stopping your home getting warm in summer without firing up the AC.
Solar gain is one of the main ways warmth will be amplified in the home. When the sun is out, it will shine down on windows and amplify the heat in the area behind it. Avoid this by using blinds, drapes, and reflective materials in your windows to minimise the impacts of solar gain.
Air circulation is extremely important, and at night, when it is cooler, open as many windows as you can to allow the house to cool. If you have fantastic insulation, all that heat from the day isn’t going to be able to get out at night, so let the heat out when the weather is at its coolest. Once the sun starts to come up in the morning, close all your windows. If your home is well insulated and you have taken care of solar gain, it will actually take quite a while for your home to heat up. You can then maintain a cool temperature through the morning and into the heat of the middle of the day.
Circulating the air with fans is alright, as it will make you feel cooler, but remember that anything electrical that is running in the house is going to make the ambient temperature higher, and the insulation is just going to trap it in. Turn all non-essentials off and try putting some water in a dish under the fan, or even better some ice, as this will work as a cheap DIY air conditioner to cool the air in the room.
Is insulation still important in Summer?
One of the best examples of insulation at work is if you venture up into your loft.
If you visit a well-insulated loft in winter, with lots of wool insulation between the joists, you will notice the area is quite cold – this is because the heat is being blocked from reaching the loft by all that thick insulation below you.
If you visit this same loft during the summer months, you will notice that it is pretty hot up there. That is because the heat from the sun has warmed up the roof and loft space, but the insulation is slowing the movement of heat from the loft space down into the house.
You will also notice that a poorly insulated roof room (loft conversion) is really cold in winter but also really hot in summer – another great example of how insulation helps to moderate the temperature in a home.
Solid wall insulation does the same thing! It means there is no need to put on the AC during the summer months helping to save you money then too!
I hope this illustrates the importance of insulation not just as a winter energy saver, but also to help keep the home cool in the summer months. The important thing to take away is that insulation is a barrier and that barrier will help stop heat from transferring across it, whatever the direction!
Summer is the best time for External Wall Insulation!
If you plan to carry out an extensive piece of work like external wall insulation, it is best to carry it out during the Spring and Summer months. Not only because it provides the contractor with good weather conditions so that the works can be completed promptly, but it is also the best time to insulate the fabric of the property. During the dryer, warmer months, the property has plenty of time to dry and allow any interstitial moisture to dissipate, leaving the external substrate in good nick for the works to begin.
The weather conditions are not as crucial for loft insulation and internal works, like dry-lining the insulation. The fact that those works involve working in the internal environment means that the contractor may prefer working over the year’s colder months.
FINDING AN APPROVED OR RECOMMENDED INSTALLER
We have teamed up with EWI Pro to help provide homeowners with an approved and recommended installer network across the UK. EWI Pro are one of the UK’s leading render manufacturers and our experiences with them have always been extremely positive. They have excellent technical support and a vast array of quality products. Their list of approved and recommended installers are specialists, so by choosing one of them to complete your project, you can be assured that the work and the materials installed on your property will be to the highest standard.
If you are looking for an approved or recommended EWI Pro installer, please send an inquiry by filling in your details on the form provided!.
Unsure of what materials you require?
Use our EWI solid wall insulation materials calculator to calculate exactly what materials you will need for a particular job.
EWI Pro Training Academy
We are delighted to announce we have partnered with the EWI Pro Training Academy in Aylesbury to bring you a series of professional installer training courses.
We have 6 unique courses to choose from, each targeting a different area of the External Wall Insulation installation process.The training courses are completed over the course of a half-day or full day, and installers will receive an EWI Pro certificate upon completion.
Why this programme?
The EWI Pro Training courses are designed with an all-round approach to learning. You will be given the chance to learn about installing EWI systems through a mixture of classroom and practical, hands-on training.
This programme also allows you to learn from experienced EWI professionals with years of industry experience. This way, you will leave the course equipped with the most relevant skills.
External solid wall insulation – or EWI – is usually in the form of expanded polystyrene insulation board, 100mm thick, which is applied to the outside of the property with adhesive and plastic bolts for a double strength bond with minimal cold bridging. This is then rendered to create a really smart finish in a variety of colours.
What is Internal solid wall insulation?
Internal solid wall insulation very similar to external wall insulation, except that the insulation is applied to the inside of the property rather than the outside. Since it gets hit less by the elements on the inside, the final finish is less ‘protective’ but it still goes a huge way to reducing your energy bills.
Internal insulation typically takes the form of PIR board like celotex, applied to the internal walls, or a stud wall with plasterboard then
placed over the top. This then means that the insulation is sandwiched between the plasterboard and the brick wall.
Should you insulate internally or externally?
In our opinion, the best option is to insulate externally (although we can insulate you property internally if external wall insulation is prohibited for any reason e.g. planning constraints).
The advantages of insulating solid walls externally
This is consistent across both internal and external solid wall insulation – they both help improve the energy efficiency of the property, but the advantage of external over internal is you are not limited by space. Insulating internally obviously shrinks rooms, but doing so externally has no impact on this – so while you could easily attach 150mm of external wall insulation to a solid wall, if you were to do this internally the rooms would be much smaller which when you take into account today’s property prices is a huge issue.