Wall and window insulation and coverings – Efficiency

Over the next few weeks follow our news on solutions to make your home more efficient.

Wall Insulation

Most buildings in Portugal do not have thermal insulation. It’s not just the thermal insulation of the ceilings or the thermal insulation provided by windows and Highly efficient exterior doors that is crucial in terms of comfort and low gas and electricity bills. It has to be borne in mind that the outer walls correspond by far to the largest building surfaces, which contributes to unwanted heat gains and losses, so the insulation of the outer walls of our buildings is crucial. Although the heat transmission through the wall materials is much lower than at the window or roof and roof level, it must not be overlooked (inside or outside the house);

If your home is older than 1990 and has never been rehabilitated, then you may not have insulation.

The low level of thermal insulation of building walls turns out to be a major cause of worldwide emissions of millions of tonnes of CO2 and greenhouse gases. And the reason is obvious: poor wall insulation leads to high gas and electricity consumptions in the climate of our buildings.

Efficient walls

– Conserve heat inside your home and improve comfort.
– They contribute to reducing the energy needs and costs associated with heating and cooling your home.

Key benefits of efficient walls

– Improved thermal comfort
– Minimization of pathologies and improvement of indoor healthiness
– Reduction of energy bill value
– Greater sound insulation

Warnings

– Consult a qualified architect or expert.
– If your house has Energy Certificate, analyze the solutions proposed by the expert;
– Ask for technical information on the solutions you are considering so that you can verify that the materials fit your requirements and are CE marked.

Roof Insulation

The main purpose of our roofs is to keep water out of our buildings. But roofs and attics must also ensure that there are no heat gains in hot weather, or that attics are not a source of heat loss in climates such as Portuguese or southern Brazil during the colder periods of the year.

Thermal insulation of roofs and attics is fundamental to our comfort, and to reduce air conditioning and heating costs. But shading roofs – in the case of houses and buildings that can benefit from tree shading – is also very important, as is the insulation of roofs. (sloping roofs (in attics being taken advantage of).

Some screens and reflective materials may also be used under the roof cover, although the effectiveness of these products is very relative.

Reflective Covers

Roof reflectivity is an important issue, and is closely associated with the type of roofing and its color. White and light colors are key, although some pigments embedded in some materials may partly overcome the color issue.

Flat Cover Membranes

EPDM-type plastic membranes and rubberized membranes are good options for flat roofs, namely white membranes with high reflectivity levels.

Sustainable Covers

Traditional ceramic roofs are relatively environmentally friendly, particularly those in light or white tones. They can reach reflectivity levels of the order of 70%. However there are other options, including photovoltaic tiles

Green Covers

The idea is seductive but difficult to implement in ordinary buildings: install vegetable layers on the flat or low pitched roofs of our buildings to thermally protect the upper floors of buildings or dwellings and avoid the heat island effect in the centers. (urban areas.)

Types of Roofing Built in Portugal

The covers are fundamental for the comfort of a home and responsible for heat gains and predations.
On average, roofing represents 30% of heat losses in a home.

Key Solutions:

Efficient covers

– Allow you to keep the interior temperature of your home improving the comfort of it.
– Minimize space heating and cooling needs

Warnings

– Try whenever possible to leverage or restore the existing structure.
– If you need to repair the structure, make sure that the master walls or beams and pillars on which the structure rests of coverage, are truly in a position to receive the constructive solution advocated.
– Correct drainage of rainwater must be carefully carried out to prevent future infiltration and pathologies.
– If you consider placing solar collectors, take the opportunity to combine the interventions and thus ensure full compatibility between both.

Efficient Windows

Efficient frames

– Energy-efficient frames can be made of PVC, thermally cut aluminum and wood,
– They can even be combined with each other, namely through PVC on the outside and wood on the inside.

Solar orientation

If your home has little solar radiation, take into account the window’s thermal transmission coefficient (Uw) so reduce heat losses to the outside. If, on the contrary, your home has a high sun exposure, be aware of the solar factor of glass, choosing solutions with solar factor values ​​below 0.56.

Glasses
Double glazing is a good option, especially if it has a 16 mm thick air box. The use of gas (argon is one of the gases used), rather than air, allows for better energy behavior. If you choose tinted glass, please note that they must be tempered to prevent breakage due to thermal shock. If you also want to improve safety, choose safety laminated glass. To improve sound insulation opt for “acoustic” laminated glass.

Opening
There are many solutions available in the market, such as sliding, stop, oscillating, guillotine, projection, among others. Choose the one that best fits your needs. However, sliding windows generally perform less well because they have higher air permeability than casement windows.

Choose a company CLASS +

Always opt for a CLASS + adhering company. Only these can issue CLASS + energy labels.

This label is critical to making the best choice of windows because it allows you to compare the energy efficiency of «Some of the most important elements of its construction:

In the case of windows, the label informs about the energy performance between products of the same type, allowing to compare and quickly recognize the best solutions. More efficient windows mean more energy savings, better acoustic soundproofing and greater thermal insulation. So replacing your old windows with new efficient windows ‘Class A +’ allows you to save energy, reduce
energy bills and have more comfort in your home.