Insulation FAQs

General Enquiries

What is insulation?

Building insulation, added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency

Soundproofing, also known as acoustic insulation, any means of reducing the intensity of sound

Thermal insulation, materials used to reduce the rate of heat transfer

Electrical insulation, the use of material to resist the flow of electric current and magnetism

Insulated glass (energy saving)

 

Why insulate?

Insulation saves energy and money

It helps fight global warming and climate change 

It makes your house/building/office more comfortable to live in Your home will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer 

It's important to choose the right kind of insulation. For instance, insulation made out of glass wool is made from up to 15% recycled glass bottles per roll, making it even better for the environment 

It increases resistance of your home/building/office to fire. Insulation made out of glass wool and stone wool can protect your place from fire. They both have an unbeatable A1 fire classification making them highly fire resistant. The Greenest Home Is Always the Most Energy Efficient Home

 

Acoustic

What is Reverberation time?

Reverberation time is the time taken for the sound pressure level to drop by 60 dB after the generated noise has been stopped. Those with a short reverberation time are referred to as being “dead“, e.g. offices with thick carpets and absorbent ceilings. A reduction of 60 dB in the sound pressure level is equivalent to the reduction of acoustic energy by a factor of one million. As a rough guide, the reverberation time of a room is approximately equal to the time it takes for loud clapping to become inaudible.

 

What is STC value?

STC (Sound Transmission Class) value is a single number rating to specify the reduction in sound levels that the partition provides. The sound transmission loss performance of a partition is measured using ASTM E 90 "Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Airborne Sound Transmission Loss of Building Partitions and Elements" and calculated according to ASTM E 413 "Classification for Rating Sound Insulation." As a general rule, the higher the STC rating, the better the partition's acoustical performance. 

 

What is the STC rating of a fiber glass insulation?

Fiber glass insulation do not have a STC (Sound Transmission Class) rating, but the use of fiber glass insulation within a partition assembly can increase the STC rating by up to 10 points. An STC rating indicates the reduction of sound transmission through a partition assembly, not each individual element. 

 

What are CAC ratings?

Ceiling Attenuation Class (CAC) ratings are used to determine the sound transmission loss through an acoustical or dropped ceiling. A CAC rating is determined by ASTM test method E 1414 "Standard Test Method for Airborne Sound Attenuation Between Rooms Sharing a Common Ceiling Plenum" and provides a value that is equivalent to an STC value.

 

What are IIC ratings?

An IIC (Impact Isolation Class) rating describes the impact noise that is transmitted through a floor/ceiling assembly. The rating is determined by ASTM E 492 "Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Impact Sound transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies Using the Tapping Machine." High ratings indicate that impact noise is reduced substantially.

 

Can a higher STC value be achieved if faced fiberglass insulation instead of un-faced insulation is used in a partition?

There is no change in STC value of a partition assembly.

 

Can STC values be added together?

STC values can not be added together. Generally, doubling of the mass of a partition system increases STC value by 6.

 

Can NRC values be added together?

NRC values can not be added together.

 

Are there advantages to using steel studs over wood studs?

Twenty five gauge steel studs provide superior sound control performance to wood studs with the same dimensions. The flexibility of the studs allows the partition to provide performance equivalent to a wood stud construction with resilient channels.

 

What are resilient channels and where are they sold?

Resilient channels are strips of metal with an offset that spaces the drywall approximately 1/2 away from the framing. They are typically installed 24 inches on centre perpendicular to the studs. The use of resilient channels dramatically reduces the amount of sound that is conducted through the structure.

 

Thermal

What is an R-value?

An R-Value (thermal resistance) indicates the insulating power of an insulation material. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power i.e. more energy savings.

 

Water Vapour

What is dew point?

Dew Point is the temperature at which condensations forms.

 

What is condensation?

Air is composed of many gases. One of these is water in a gaseous from, called water vapour. The amount of water vapour that air can hold is a function of temperature. When the air comes in contact with an object at a temperature where water vapour will change to a liquid. This process is called condensation.

 

What is perm?

Perm is a traditional unit of water vapour permeability, that is, the ability of a material to permit the passage of water vapour. If we want to keep things dry, we wrap them in something having low permeability. A material has a permeability of one perm if it allows transmission of one grain of water vapour per square foot of area per inch of mercury (in Hg) of pressure difference per hour. The value depends somewhat on temperature, however. At 0 C, one perm equals about 5.721 x 10-11 kilograms per square meter per Pascal per second (kg/(m2 Pas) or about 0.2060 mg/(m2 Pa h); at room temperature the equivalent is about 5.745 x 10-11 kg/(m2 Pa s). [The SI unit, kg/(m2 Pa s), simplifies to seconds per meter (s/m).] The lower the perm value, the better the vapour barrier.

 

What is perm inch?

Perm inch is a traditional unit of water vapour permeance. The perm value (see above) does not depend on the thickness of the material used as a water barrier. The permeance is the product of the perm value and the thickness, measured in inches. One perm inch equals about 1.453 x 10-12 kg/(m Pa s) at 0 C or about 1.459 x 10-12 kg/(m Pa s) at room temperature. The SI unit kg/(m Pa s) actually simplifies to seconds (s).

 

What is water vapour transmission?

The amount of water vapour passing through a given area of a plastic sheet or film in a given time, when the sheet or film is maintained at a constant temperature and when its faces are exposed to certain different relative humidity's. The result is usually expressed as grams per 24 hours per square meter (g/24 hr m2).

 

What is the difference between permeance and permeability?

Permeability is the water vapour transmission of a homogeneous material under unit vapour pressure difference between two specific surfaces, per unit thickness. An acceptable unit of permeability is perms-inch: grain-in/h ft2 in Hg. Permeability is important for specifying insulation materials. Permeance is the water vapour transmission of a specific sample under unit vapour pressure difference between two specific surfaces. An acceptable unit of permeance is perm: grain/h ft2 in Hg. Permeance is important for specifying vapour retarders. It is important to ONLY use permeance when specifying vapour retarders. The industry standard requirements for vapour retarder permeance in mechanical systems are typically 0.02 perms for below 32 F service temperature and 0.03 to 0.05 perms for above 32 F service temperatures. When selecting a vapour retarder, make sure that permeance meets these requirements. Saran* 540 and 560 vapour retarder films easily meet the more stringent of these two requirements (0.02 perms). This makes them suitable for use at service temperatures from ambient down to cryogenic temperatures.

 

Which side do I install the vapour retarder on?

It depends on your geographical location. In cold climates, the vapour retarder should be installed on the inside (warm in winter) of the structure. In hot and humid climates the vapour retarder should be installed on the outside (warm side). Vapour retarders play an integral role in moisture control. Since climates are rarely cold or hot all the time, the vapour retarder should be placed to the side of the structure that is the predominately warm side. This is because heat flows from warmer to cooler in attempt to reach equilibrium. The warmer air can hold a higher amount of water vapour. As air cools, it can reach the dew point. This is the point at which the relative humidity reaches 100% and water vapour condenses from the vapour phase to the liquid phase. Therefore, the vapour retarder should be placed to the predominately warm side to prevent the moisture from migrating with the heat flow to the cold side, reaching the dew point, and creating a liquid moisture problem.