How to build a warm house

What type of walls will help maintain the optimal temperature in the house? Probably, there are as many opinions as there are experts. Let's look at some popular solutions for building private houses. So, How to build a warm house?

High energy prices and advances in energy efficiency make the concept of a warm home not a luxury, but a necessity today. The impact on the energy efficiency of a building is determined by a number of factors: the quality and insulation of the foundations, the type of roof, ventilation, the type and location of the heating system. But the walls play the biggest role in maintaining a comfortable temperature in the house. It is through them that a lot of heat can be lost from the house.

How to build a warm house - is it worth building single-layer walls?

One of the main types of external walls is single-layer walls. Today, it is believed that the heat transfer coefficient U for external single-layer walls cannot be higher than W/m² K. However, modern building materials have excellent insulation properties and allow achieving much better indicators. For example, popular aerated concrete, even without thermal insulation with foam plastic or mineral wool, can provide a heat transfer coefficient of U = 0.173W/m² K. Consequently, single-layer walls made of aerated concrete with a thickness of 36.5 - 48 cm can do without additional insulation. But the biggest advantage of single-layer walls, in addition to the short time of their construction, the absence of the need to use insulating materials and plaster, is their price. It is calculated that the cost of resources required to erect one square meter of such a wall is 15% lower than in the case of building a two-layer wall.

Insulated walls

Another solution that allows you to build a warm house and save on heating is wall insulation. Using modern materials, it is quite easy to insulate the facade, but this undertaking takes a long time. Most often, insulation is carried out using the so-called "wet method", that is, using plasters applied to a layer of polystyrene foam or mineral wool. For some types of thermal insulation boards, a protective layer is also used, consisting of a fiberglass-reinforced mesh. Such walls are called double-layer. Their heat transfer coefficient should not exceed the value U = 0.3 W / m² K.

As already mentioned, polystyrene foam or mineral wool are most often used as insulation. Their thermal insulation characteristics are similar, but there is a big difference in the vapor permeability of these materials - polystyrene foam practically "does not breathe". Regardless of which type of insulation you choose, a layer of 12-15 cm (with proper installation of insulation!) should be enough to build a warm house.

Labor-intensive work

Three-layer walls, as a technological solution, are the most labor-intensive. The structure essentially consists of two walls with insulation between them - usually a layer of polystyrene or mineral wool. A ventilation gap of several centimeters must be maintained between the load-bearing wall and the outer layer of insulation. It is designed to remove water vapor and maintain the insulation layer in a dry state. The outer wall is designed to protect the thermal insulation from precipitation and mechanical damage. Three-layer walls have high energy efficiency, but their construction is more labor-intensive and expensive work.

Three types of wall - three dilemmas

Those who are wondering about the type of walls for their home should ask themselves three basic questions: what financial resources do you have, how quickly do you want to build the walls, and what type of insulation will be used. Also remember that we live in an environment of ever-increasing energy prices, and if you “invest” in efficient technology now, it can pay off in the future.