How Air Moves And How To Keep Comfortable Year-Round

We are always learning more about building science and how to maximize your comfort. Something we've learned over the years is the way cold and hot air moves in our homes is more complicated than we thought. The common belief is that they exclusively rise, but it is a little more complicated. There are three ways in, which energy moves and how they impact the overall comfort of you and your home.

1. Radiation is the process by which the sun’s energy travels through the cold vacuum of outer space to reach Earth. Essentially, air moves from its source through space and then warms or cools the object on the other end of that space.
   
   
   
2. Conduction is the process of energy passing through a physical object, like a coffee mug or fiberglass insulation. Spray foam insulation mitigates this as much as possible by providing high levels of resistance -- high R-Values -- to keep cool and hot air from escaping.
   
   
   
3. Convection, or the movement of energy with air molecules, is the third process. Heat causes air molecules to move faster and increases the distance between them, this causes hot air to be less dense than cold air, which features slow-moving, tightly packed air molecules and explains why hot air seeks to move upwards.

As warm and cool air rises, it escapes through your home. Conventional fiberglass does nothing to prevent this phenomenon. Even though fiberglass insulation is used to insulate a home, it is utilized in other contexts because it allows air to pass through it. Fiberglass insulation has an extremely low R-Value. Although having insulation in your home that has a low R-value, there are other factors that contribute to the loss of energy. Specifically, holes for wiring and plumbing, partitions, access panels, drop soffits, light fixtures and more.

This issue impacts your wallet repeatedly. Because your home's thermal barrier not being properly sealed, hot and cool air can enter and exit your home through leaky windows, doors, electrical outlets, and other draft-prone places.

The way to solve this problem is to insulate your home with spray foam insulation. By doing this you will be able to reach the properl level of r-value required to keep you comfortable. This benefits you in the winter and summer, as the air you’ve paid to heat or cool is no longer displaced. Your drafts disappear and you pay substantially less to keep your home comfortable year-round.

Call us at 1-845-361-1110, or visit foamcoinc.com to learn more about how spraying purple can save you green, all while keeping you comfortable year-round today!