How a Vapor Barrier Works
Insulation
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The Importance of Insulation
The best advice is often the advice you hear every time you ask a question. In the case of solar energy, the best advice is always "fix everything you can fix before you start planning your project". If you plug all your leaks, improve your energy efficiency, and insulate your home properly, your solar energy installation can be smaller and will cost you less.
How to Insulate a New Home's Foundations
The foundations are an important part of your home, for the obvious reason that they support everything else. But they are also a major source of energy loss unless they are properly insulated, since they are in constant contact with the cold, often damp surrounding earth.
The situation is made worse by the fact that concrete is an excellent heat conductor. Although this is a benefit in a concrete radiant floor slab, for example, it's a real concern in a home's foundations.
How to Insulate an Existing Home's Foundations
The foundations are an important part of your home, for the obvious reason that they support everything else. But they are also a major source of energy loss unless they are properly insulated, since they are in constant contact with the cold, often damp surrounding earth.
The situation is made worse by the fact that concrete is an excellent heat conductor. Although this is a benefit in a concrete radiant floor slab, for example, it's a real concern in a home's foundations.
What are Insulating Concrete Forms?
One of the best innovations for passive solar homes are ICFs – Insulating Concrete Forms. At first glance, they look like a lazy way to build foundations because they are simple and lightweight, they snap together, and it's more like playing with Lego than building a house. The good news is that, despite their apparent ease, they create one of the best insulated foundations possible.
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