Airtightness & Its Importance In Your Home- A Discussion!

by Eva Spenser Innovation

According to real-time examples, high-performance build energy homes are 5-times more efficient than a conventional home.

The exact amount of air needed to condition a leaking home of 80m2 is exactly for an airtight home with 400m2. The issue with leaky homes is the high ex-filtration and infiltration, and that makes it harder to keep it cooled or heated.

It is why more and more homeowners are trying to make their homes as airtight as possible. They wrap their houses using top-quality airtight building envelope systems such as SIGA membrane and tape to wrap their home structure. With that, they also include uPVC double glazing structural windows, HVR systems /energy recovery systems to perform dual objectives of energy recovery and ventilation.

Speaking of airtightness; once the building has been covered completely with airtight wraps tapes, the blower-door test is conducted to find out which areas leak. And with the use of a thermographic camera, the leakages are determined by vivid colours.

With airtightness comes energy recovery and thermal bridging. And that helps upkeep a consistent temperature with less use of regulating the cooling and heating loads.

Its Other Importance:-

Airtightness Affects The Insurance Performance (R-Value):-

R- Value indicates the resistance of a material to conduct heat flow. The more the R-value, the more effective is the insulation of a building.

Whereas even with a 1mm gap in airtightness, the R-value will decrease in performance by 4.8. So, the bottom line is that if you wish to ensure the insulation works, proper airtightness is important!

Airtightness Affects Moisture Movement:-

Homes that are not efficient in airtightness will also cause moisture migration into the building fabric. It may also lead to water diffusion- the movement of warm air into the building’s exterior construction!

Reports have stated clearly that water diffusion increases when building gaps increase. And when moisture collects inside a wall cavity, the strength and integrity of the insulation will get compromised!

It Also Helps Control Noise:-

Airtightness, along with the combination of quality windows, will deliver a quieter house. This is more so in noisy cities and irritating neighbours. If the temperature inside is congenial for living, one doesn’t need to open their windows, thus keeping all that outside noise in-check.

Consult With Energy Efficient Builders:-

If you wish for a proper energy efficient home designs- including with proper airtightness, then it is best to take help from qualified builders with heaps of field experience.

They will suggest you plenty of quality home designs each with the promise of high-performance products, heat pumps, double glazing windows and even Siga airtightness membranes tapes.

To Sort The Right Builders:-

Check their market stature and years of field knowledge under their disposal.
The types of projects or home designs they have done for their clients so far.
Their list of high-performance building supplies
And their legitimate builder’s certification/license.

After finding the right builder; you should sit with them and discuss what kind of improvements you intend to bring to your new house plan. They will be happy to incorporate all your tailored requirements.