INTRODUCTION
Insulation is any material that provides a high resistance to the flow of heat from one surface to another [1]. Insulating materials are commonly put in the interior of external walls to prevent heat flow from the building to the environment. Heats naturally moves from warm areas to cool areas which results in heat moving from outside building. This heat influx puts increased burden on cooling system of the building. Properly insulating buildings will decrease cooling financial and environmental costs.
REGULATION
Texas follows the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) in regard to regulations involving insulation requirements. Figure 1 below presents the different climate zones as recognized in chapter 3 of the IECC [2]. Houston falls under zone 2 in the climate map.
Chapter four of the IECC introduces minimum R-value for commercial structures. R-value is a measure of a material’s resistance to heat flow in units of Fº*hours*square feet per BTU[1]. The overall R-value of a wall or ceiling will be somewhat different from R-value of the insulation itself because heat can flow more readily through studs joists and other building materials in a process known as thermal bridging [3]. Continuous insulation (ci) is insulation that avoids thermal bridging by going over interrupting building materials. As R-value increases so does insulating ability. In Table 1 below, NR stands for no requirement, LS for liner system and group R includes buildings where occupants sleep [2].
To learn more about the different types of insulation, click the button on the right.
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Sources:
[1] U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary,” [Online], November 1, 2016. From: http://www.eia.gov/TOOLS/GLOSSARY/
[2] International Code Council, “2015 International Energy Conservation Code.” [Online], November 14, 2016. From: http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/2015-I-Codes/2015%20IECC%20HTML/Copyright.html
[3] U.S. Department of Energy. "Insulation," [Online], November 16, 2016. Energy Saver. From: http://energy.gov/energysaver/insulation
[1] U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary,” [Online], November 1, 2016. From: http://www.eia.gov/TOOLS/GLOSSARY/
[2] International Code Council, “2015 International Energy Conservation Code.” [Online], November 14, 2016. From: http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/2015-I-Codes/2015%20IECC%20HTML/Copyright.html
[3] U.S. Department of Energy. "Insulation," [Online], November 16, 2016. Energy Saver. From: http://energy.gov/energysaver/insulation