Question 1

1. What is a thermal insulation?

Accepted Answer

Thermal insulation refers to any product that’s used to reduce heat transfer from one area of a building to another. For example, between the inside of a house and the outside. This is useful in both cold and hot weather, preventing heat escaping from the building during winter, as well as keeping heat out in the summer.

Aside from comfort, thermal insulation can also save occupants money on heating and air conditioning. It makes buildings easier and quicker to heat and cool, improving energy efficiency. For this reason, efficient insulation is also important on sustainable builds.

Question 2

2. What are the building regs for thermal insulation in construction?

Accepted Answer

The building regulations for thermal insulation are different depending on which part of the UK your project is in. If you're working on a new or existing building in England, Approved Document L: Conservation of Fuel and Power contains the energy performance standards that you need to follow. Wales has its own version of Approved Document L, and the Scottish standards are in Section 6 of the Building standards technical handbook.

Question 3

3. What’s thermal conductivity for insulation materials?

Accepted Answer

The ‘thermal conductivity’ of a material is a measure of how easily heat can travel through it by conduction. This figure is often called the lambda value of the material. As a rule, the lower the thermal conductivity figure, the better the performance.

However, thermal conductivity isn’t all that’s needed for a product to be a good thermal insulator. Other factors like thermal resistance, density and heat capacity should also be taken into account.

You can find a quick guide to the properties of different thermal insulation building materials here on GreenSpec.

Compare thermal insulation materials

50mm Kingspan Kooltherm K107 Pitched Roof Board 2400mm x 1200mm

VELUX Insulation Collar With Underfelt Collar 55 X 98cm

Rockwool Firestop Compound 22kg

110mm IKO Enertherm ALU PIR Insulation Board 2400mm x 1200mm

25mm IKO Enertherm ALU PIR Insulation Board 2400mm x 1200mm

40mm IKO Enertherm ALU PIR Insulation Board 2400mm x 1200mm

600mm x 10m x 3mm SuperFoil Garage Door Kit

Unilin 90mm x 450mm x 1200mm Cavity Wall Square Edge Thin-R Insulation

50mm Recticel Instafit PIR Insulation board 1200mm x 450mm

Rockwool Thermal Timber Frame Insulation Slab 1200 x 570 x 140mm

Siniat Weather Defence Board 12.5mm x 2.4m x 1.2m (52 Boards)

Promat Masterboard 6mm x 1220mm x 2400mm (50 Boards)

SuperFOIL SFBB 1mm x 1.5m x 25m

Ultrablock 300 Thermo Reflective Vapour Control Layer - 2m x 50m (100m2)

Superfoil SF60 100mm x 1.5m x 8m

Superfoil SF40BB 75mm x 1.5m x 10m

120mm Kingspan Thermaroof TR24 Flat Roof Torch-On Insulation Board 1200mm x 600mm (2.88m2/Pack)

125mm Isover Cavity Wall Insulation Slab 36 (4.37m²)

Unilin CavityTherm Full Fill Ext Corner Insulation PIR Board 1200 x 450 x 125mm

Unilin CavityTherm Full Fill Insulation PIR Board 1200 x 450 x 125mm

Unilin ECO CavityTherm Full Fill Insulation PIR Board 1200 x 450 x 150mm

Unilin Safe-R Cavity Wall Insulation PIR Board 1200 x 450 x 75mm

Unilin Thin-R Cavity Wall Insulation PIR Board 1200 x 450 x 100mm

Unilin Thin-R Cavity Wall Insulation PIR Board 1200 x 450 x 50mm

Unilin Thin-R Cavity Wall Insulation PIR Board 1200 x 450 x 70mm

Unilin XT Thermal Liner DD Insulation PIR Board 2400 x 1200 x 37.5mm

Unilin XT Thermal Liner DD Insulation PIR Board 2400 x 1200 x 50.5mm

SuperFOIL SF19BB Breathable Multi-Foil Insulation - 1.2 x 10m

VELUX Insulation Collar With Underfelt Collar 114 X 118cm

200mm Knauf Loft Roll Insulation 44 Combi-Cut (164.16m²) - Pallet

1350mm x 50m x 4mm SuperFoil SFBA BB Insulating Breathable Membrane

Rockwool Thermal Acoustic Insulation Roll 3650 x 1200 x 150mm