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Insulation is sometimes confused with either weatherization or thermal mass, but is distinct from both.
Insulation is the practice of providing a barrier surrounding, or within a building or other object to slow the conductive flow of heat. A reflective barrier is often added to insulation to slow radiative heat flow.
Insulation is a barrier keeping in heat flow.
Insulation is used not only for buildings, but also for stoves, refrigerators, freezers, water heaters and some other appliances where it is important to slow heat flow, and in many industrial applications.
Commonly-used types of insulation in residential construction include:
The use of highly-compressed straw bales as insulation, though uncommon, is gaining popularity in experimental building projects and passive solarPassive solar energy refers to collection systems that do not involve the input of other forms of energy to increase the effectiveness of the collection system. This usually refers to pumps, blowers and automatic systems to aim collectors, lenses or mirro design because of its high R-valueThe R-value is a non- SI measure of thermal resistance used in housing insulation. It is defined as R ft2 F° h / Btu. For comparison, the SI unit of thermal resistance is R K. m²/ W, and 1 ft² F° h / Btu approx. Units of measure. and excellent thermal mass.
A vapour barrier is often used in conjunction with insulation because the thermal gradient produced by the insulation may result in condensation which may damage the insulation. The vapour barrier should always go on the warm side of the insulation. That is, on a heated house, the vapour barrier goes between the warm inside and the insulation. On an insulated, air conditioned house in very warm climates, the vapour barrier should go on the outside so that the insulation is between the vapour barrier and colder, air conditionedNote: in the broadest sense, "air conditioning" can refer to any form of " heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. This article is specifically about the use of refrigeration for this purpose. The first album of the pop group Curved Air was Airconditi house.