Choosing an effective insulator is an important part of any flat roofing system. With the UK government striving towards energy efficiency in UK buildings to minimise climate change, insulation is emerging as an important part of energy conservation.
Types of flat roofing insulation
There are many types of flat roofing insulator available. For most buildings, polyisocyanurate (PIR), is the leading substrate, primarily used on 'warm' flat roofing structures.
How does roofing insulation work?
In a building, for instance, warm air is retained by a physical barrier that is ideally a poor conductor or transmitter of heat, minimising a phenomena know as convection. In this sense, the insulation acts as a barrier to keep warm air inside, minimising transfer and therefore loss of heat, ultimately keeping the building warm.
Whilst some heat losses are inevitable (owing to Second Law of Thermodynamics), a good insulating material that's also thick will mitigate excessive heat transfer and therefore heat loss
How is the performance of flat roofing insulation evaluated?
One way to quantify the performance of an insulator is by measuring its U-value. This is the thermal transmittance, a term used to define the thermal performance of a system. Technically speaking, it's the "heat transmission in unit time through unit area of a material construction and the boundary air films, induced by unit temperature difference between the environments on each site".
Moreover, the lower the U-value, the lower the rate of heat flow for a given substrate and the greater the heat retention, indicate an effective insulator. PIR, for instance, has a low U-value, which is why it's a popular insulator for roofing.
More detailed performance standards for flat roofing insulation can be found here.
The benefits of flat roofing insulation
There are many benefits to choosing an effective insulator for your flat roof, which is why the UK government has incorporated it into its building regulations. These are:
- Greater thermal efficiency: high-performance insulation is designed to minimise the loss of heat through the insulating material , as described above.
- Save money: with high-performance insulation, heat loss through your roof is reduced. This means that for the average homeowner, upgrading your insulation could save you £225 per year in reduced heating bills.
- Environmental: reduced heating requirements equate to reduced CO2 and atmospheric pollutants due to reduced fossil fuel consumption.
Insulation for flat roofs
Choosing an effective flat roofing insulator is an important part of any roofing construction project. A variety of flat roofing insulation manufacturers exist, most with BBA-approval. However, the majority of these demonstrate little or no comparable difference in performance, beyond marketing strategies and manufacturing methods, whether you choose KingSpan or Celoflex.
As a property owner, builder or developer, the majority of instances should see PIR - poly isocyanurate, a warm insulator installed that's compliant with current regulations.
When to install flat roofing insulation
The UK government has guidelines on flat roofing insulation. As a general rule of thumb, if you are aiming to replace more than 25% of the flat roofing area then you're strongly advised to upgrade the insulation. Likewise, if you're looking to create a new building or extension, then you'll also need to install effective insulation. More detail for roofing insulation can be found here. And more detail for re-roofing can be found here. One of the key benefits of improved insulation is increased thermal efficiency and reduced CO2 consumption.
Flat roofing systems compatible with insulation
At Strandek, our high-performance flat roofing systems are designed with insulation in mind, whether its glass fibre to single ply, you can rest assured that your roof will be well insulated and fully waterproof.
Contact a specialist
Need a flat roofing specialist to upgrade your insulation? In business for over 40 years, Strandek have extensive experience in all things flat roofing. If you'd like to find out how we can help you today contact us here or call us on 029 2190 0011.