How Does Insulation Keep You Warm?

Stopping Radiation

• Anyone who has sat in a warm beam of sunlight understands that heat is transferred in part through light, which is called radiant heat. The insulation in your walls doesn't do much to stop radiant heat loss because the color of the walls already does that. However, specially insulated windows can achieve this. Without them, you can lose radiant heat through the clear glass. Insulated windows are made from "Low-E" glass.

Conduction

• Conduction is another way that heat moves from one space to another. When there is cold air located next to warm air, the warm air naturally tries to move to the cold air due to conduction. Therefore, the warm air inside your house tries to move outside to where the cold air is. If heat has an unobstructed path, it will simply flow out of your house. Insulation provides resistance to this effect. The warm air is unable to escape your home because the path of escape is blocked by the insulation.

Preventing Rising Air

• The natural tendency of warm air is to move up. The rising motion of warmer air is a major driving factor in the planet's weather patterns. However, this process is replicated in microscopic form within your home. The warm air rises naturally to your attic where it can escape to the cool air outside. Insulating your attic is very important, because this is where a huge amount of heat loss takes place in most homes.

R-Value

• Insulation keeps you warm based on its R-value. Essentially, the higher the R-value on a given insulation product, the warmer it will keep you. Several factors affect how high the R-value of insulation is. Certain materials are better insulators; thicker insulation will prevent more heat loss, and the density of the material will affect how quickly heat penetrates the insulation.