Heat Transfer Methods and eShield® Protection

Find out How Heat Infiltrates Your Home

Heat transfer is the largest threat to the energy efficiency of your home, which is why it’s essential to take proper measures to prevent it. The first step to accomplishing this is to know your enemy, which in this case is heat transfer. Once you understand what your battling, you can formulate and effective plan of attack. This is especially true when it comes to insulation since you’ll need to be able to identify how heat transfer is effecting your home the most. The thing to keep in mind is that your heat transfer is a three-headed threat coming in the forms of conduction, convection, and radiation. Each of these operate on different principles and travel through specific spaces.

The Three Types of Heat Transfer

• Conduction: This is a process in which heat transfers through direct physical contact. This is commonly exhibited when heating a pan on your stovetop. The burner on which the pan sits heats the bottom of the pan. This results in the surface area of the entire pan being heated. Traditionally, fiberglass batts commonly used against conduction, trapping the heat in millions of tiny fibers. This effectively slows the process of transference but does not stop it completely.
• Convection: Convective heat transfer takes place through molecular movement in fluid (water or air). Heated molecules within an air or liquid rise due to their lighter density, which results in them replacing less active, cooler molecules and forcing them to fall toward the heat source if it’s still is present. This cyclical process continues as long as the source of heat remains. A pot of boiling water is often the example used to explain the convective process since it shows cooler water molecules toward the top constantly being displaced and forced down. Convective heat affects your home through the air and is typically combatted with insulating foam boards.
• Radiation: Heat traveling via electromagnetic radiation is also referred to as thermal heat transfer, radiation, radiant heat transfer, and a variety of other names. It doesn’t heat the air or space around it and only affects the objects it comes into contact with. Objects of low reflectivity absorb the electromagnetically transferred heat, which it then reemits. A good example of radiant heat can be felt from the sun or a source of light. Radiant barrier uses its reflective properties to protect against radiant heat transfer.

Complete Your Insulation System

Most homes use at least one form of insulation. It may only protect against one form of heat transfer but it’s still working to keep your energy bills down. If you want to get the most out of your insulation system, it’s best to have protection against all types of heat transfer. This is the only true way to fully optimize your home’s energy efficiency. To learn more about how the experts at Ultimate Gutter Guard can complete your energy-saving system, contact us today for a free consultation.