Insulation is hugely important for maintaining the correct climate inside agricultural structures such as poultry houses, piggeries, cowsheds, and various storage buildings: it helps reduce operating costs while increasing production, ensures general animal health, creates a more comfortable working environment, and lowers input costs.
Livestock buildings that are intended for breeding animals – specifically piggeries, cowsheds and poultry houses – must meet certain temperature standards for animals to live in them.
Maintaining an appropriate temperature independent of external weather conditions is also recommended for agricultural buildings intended for food storage, such as cold storage or fruit and vegetable warehouses. Low temperatures help keep food products fresher for longer, which directly translates into higher profitability.
To fully grasp the importance of insulation, it’s vital to understand the principles of heat flow.
There is a difference between heat and temperature. When you feel hot air coming off a heater, you feel heat, not temperature. The thermometer simply indicates the level of heat in an area at that moment.
Heat always flows from a hot area towards a cold area. Thus, the natural direction of heat flow will be from the high-temperature side of a wall or ceiling towards the colder side.
Insulation does not stop heat flow – it slows it down. The poorer the insulation material is in conducting heat, and the thicker it is, the more “resistance” it will offer to the natural flow of heat. This resistance is measured by the R-value: the higher the R-value of a material, the better it insulates.
Warm air holds more moisture than cold air. The moisture-holding capacity of air roughly doubles with each 11°C rise in temperature. This principle explains why walls and ceilings can become wet and even drip. Livestock will add heat and moisture vapour to the surrounding air. When warm, moisture-laden air in such an environment encounters a cool surface – such as a poorly insulated wall or ceiling, or a cold window or foundation – the air cools and no longer holds as much water vapour. This causes condensation or “sweating”. If the surface is cold enough, this condensate can freeze. Good insulation prevents condensation by keeping the inside surfaces warm. i.e. above the “dew point” or saturation temperature of the air.
Keeping all the above in mind, Summit XPS insulation board, with its 100% closed-cell structure, will provide protection against moisture, effectively waterproofing the surfaces on which it is used.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT INSULATION FOR YOUR NEEDS
The insulation that best suits your needs depends on the relative importance of various factors in your application.
Summit XPS insulation:
Is easy to install
Has low input costs
Can be used to insulate ceilings and cavity walls, as well as for underfloor insulation
Is fire resistant, with B/B1/2/H&V (SP & USP) certification
B = Combustible
B1 = No flame spread
2 = Building occupancy class
H&V = Horizontal and vertical
SP = Sprinklers tested o USP = Sprinklers untested
Summit XPS is not poisonous and has no nutritional value, which means it can be used in buildings intended for housing animals. However, if the insulation is exposed and likely to come into contact with the animals, we recommend covering it to reduce the likelihood of physical damage.
When choosing an insulation material, you need to look at the comparative effectiveness of different options. The effectiveness depends on the material’s physical characteristics and the way it will be installed. In the real world – and especially in the tricky environment of livestock production – you should also consider various technical issues. Insulation material should repel moisture and should be dry during installation.
Once installed, the material should not be allowed to take up moisture (this makes it vermin-proof). In addition, insulation material should be used in accordance with the occupancy classification, be flame-retardant, be durable and easy to apply, offer high mechanical resistance, and require little maintenance.