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What is the importance of insulation in real world applications?

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What is the importance of insulation in real world applications?

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Insulation is a concept most everybody has experience with, even if they don't realize it. A good insulator has high heat capacity, heat reflection, and air-tightness. The clothes you wear insulate your body, the fiberglass in your walls keeps your house hot or cold, etc. Insulation is one of the most important aspects of building a large structure. Being able to keep warmth or coldness from escaping into the atmosphere allows for buildings to consume less electricity, and have less impact on the environment around them. It doesn't just have applications in clothing and buildings, it is also used to keep astronauts warm in the vacuum of space, and to protect important historical documents and artifacts. One of the most common things that demonstrates the importance of insulation is house ownership. Oftentimes in older houses, there will be no insulation other than the walls, meaning that the temperature inside the house will quickly equalize with the outside environment. This will drive the price of air conditioning up, and increase total electricity usage a lot. Installing insulation is the easiest way of reducing heat loss.

Source: https://www.onehourheatandair.com/largo/about-us/blog/2013/september/how-does-attic-insulation-affect-your-ac-/

https://www.wagnermechanical.com/blog/attic-insulation-ac-efficiency

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Many homeowners in Largo associate attic insulation with warmth when temperatures drop. The insulation in an attic actually helps to keep the house cool during hot weather as well. The same insulating properties that preserve heat can also work to keep it out. Attic insulation can affect an air conditioning system in a number of ways.

Slow the Transfer of Heat

The main way attic insulation affects air conditioning in a home is by slowing the transfer of heat between spaces. It also blocks the flow of air. The small pockets of air between pieces of blown-in fill or fiberglass batting will trap heat. Attics in homes in Largo can heat up quickly when exposed to the sun all day long. This heat will eventually start to transfer into the house if no insulation is present to stop it. This warms the air in the home and makes the space less comfortable even if the air conditioner is running. Insulation allows the conditioned air to remain cooler for a longer time.

Prevent Moisture Exchange

Moisture can be a problem in Largo homes. Moisture and humidity levels can increase in some attics. The moisture will travel downwards into the home where it can raise humidity levels. Higher humidity levels increase the perceived temperature in the house. High humidity can also create some problems with air conditioner coils over time especially if the system needs maintenance. Attic insulation blocks the flow of air that could carry humidity into the house. This increases comfort throughout the day.

Increase Cooling Efficiency

Attic insulation directly affects an air conditioner by increasing the cooling efficiency of the unit. The insulation helps to isolate the living areas of the home from the attic. Cool air cannot escape into the attic where it dissipates. The air conditioner can cool a much larger space in far less time when the attic is insulated. This increased efficiency will lower power bills during the hottest months of the year in Largo.

Extend the Life of the Air Conditioner

Good attic insulation can extend the life of an air conditioning system. Homes without attic insulation will be losing cool air constantly. This forces the air conditioner to work harder to maintain the set temperature. This could cause the air conditioner to cycle on and off frequently each day. The extra cycling can wear down the motor or compressor over time. The result is increased maintenance costs and a shorter overall lifespan for the system. Attic insulation prevents this from occurring.

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One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® of Largo

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How Does Attic Insulation Affect your AC | AC Repair Palm Harbor | AC

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Many homeowners in Largo associate attic insulation with warmth when temperatures drop. The insulation in an attic actually helps to keep the house cool during hot weather as well. The same insulating properties that preserve heat can also work to keep it out. Attic insulation can affect an air conditioning system in a number of ways.

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-Water transferring process

-Air gaps
There are gaps in the cap of the bock that we made in order to get the water inside of the box. These could cause some minor heat loss and difficulties with pouring water.
-Recording process
There is no way to accurately record to temperature of the water so it will always be slightly off.

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Conduction
When 2 or more atoms or molecules traveling at different speeds collide. The faster moving atom will lose speed (heat) and the slower moving atom will gain speed (heat)

Radiation
When something is hot, it gives off electromagnetic waves that travel through space that will makes other atoms or molecules warmer when they come into contact with the waves.

Convection
Convection is when heat from air particles transfers to another substance through physical contact.

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The biggest constraint that we faced during our project was loss of heat through air leakage. Our design, although very close was not entirely air-tight and that means some amount of heat can escape in between the air gaps of the lid and main container. We could improve on this with a sealed rubber gasket or screw on lid of some kind. Another improvement we could make is the application of the insulation. We overfilled the container slightly and it caused a noticeable bump above the top of the container. This contributed to the previous air gap problem. I would also use more mylar on the lid to prevent any sort of heat loss through there. Other then general improvements in precision with the construction of the container, I think the only aspects I would re-design would be the cup and the manner of insulation application.

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Final Temperature Loss in our Final Design

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Final Temperature Loss in our Final Design

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We went from 82.2 to 65.7, meaning in 12 minutes we lost roughly 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit of heat.