Heat is lost (or transferred) in 3 ways. Creating air and thermal barriers diminishes heat transfer, which creates more efficient and comfortable homes.

• Conduction - conduction means that heat is transferred by touch - creating a thermal barrier (insulation) prevents conductive heat loss.
• Convection - convection means that heat is transferred by air movement - creating an air barrier (air sealing) prevents convective heat loss.
• Radiation - radiation means that heat moves in all direction - creating a thermal barrier (insulation) prevents radiant heat loss.

Whether it's winter or summer, insulation makes your home more comfortable. A properly insulated home creates a thermal barrier and helps keep your home at your desired temperature. Like a fleece-lined jacket, insulation helps contain heat in the winter, but it also contains cool air in the summer.

Just as a fleece jacket doesn't keep you warm in windy conditions, neither does insulation alone. Insulation does not fix, fill, or prevent air leaks except in the cases of spray foam insulation.This is why we always recomend air sealing your home befor insulating it.

Think of an Air Barrier (air sealing) as your home's wind breaker and Thermal Barrier (insulation) as your home's sweater. The sweater keeps body heat close to your body (preventing coductive and radient heat loss), and the wind breaker reduces cold air chills (convective heat loss).  Insulation and air sealing work together as a system, just like a sweater and a wind breaker. To learn more about air sealing, visit the air sealing page.

To learn more about duct sealing visit the Getting Started page.