A) WHAT IS INSULATION?

Insulation is a new word which corresponds to “tecrit” in Arabic and “isolation” in Frenc. Insulation is defined as “protection of electrical and thermal currents” in the Turkish dictionary of Turkish Language Institution. On the other hand, the word insulation is an indispensable concept in many sectors such as costruction, sanitary, and automotive.

Insulation in the construction sector is a branch of construction physics. It examines the precautions which are necessary to control and organize physical motions such as heat and water transfer from a construction element, water vapor diffusion, and expansion of fire and sound. The aim of insulation in the construction sector is to present healthy, comfortable, safe, and energy efficient environments to the people living in the structures. On the other hand, the concept of insulation also includes various materials that are used for protecting the structure from harmful effects, such as water-based risks and fire, and application rules of these materials. Insulation in the heating and cooling installations, however, is an essential application for the transfer of the energy without losing its quality.

Insulation applications are used with various purposes and in many areas; such as making sure that the noises caused from the engines of the road and air vehicles do not disturb the passengers, enabling the suitable conditions in the animal farms, and pools and artifical lakes.

Generally, the applications, which are actualized so that the structures built according to their intended use, can function when exposed to various effects are called “insulation” implementations.

B) THERMAL INSULATION

The comfort of the humans can be possible at an average temperature of 20 – 22 ºC and 50% moisture. These values fall to much lower levels in the winter months whereas they increase to higher levels in the summer months. Consequently, we try to keep the temperatures of the environments constant, by displaying a continuous effort, to increase our comfort. As a result, we pay significant energy costs for both heating and removing the excess heat by means of different tools such as air conditioning and radiators. According to the studies conducted, the temperatures of the environments directly affect the humans and play a significant role as regards to their performances. On the other hand, the same conditions are true for animals as well. The poultry kept at cold environments consume excessive amount of feed. When they are exposed to excessive heat, however, their efficiencies (commercial values) are severely decreased. Therefore, we have to pay considerable amounts of money for keeping the temperatures of both the environments, in which humans live, and animal shelters. Nonetheless, all these costs unfortunately go down the drain without the use of a thermal insulation. Heat leakages are constantly observed and the temperatures of the environments can never reach the desired levels. Even if they reach these levels, we can never conserve the temperature values of the environment for a long time.

The desired comfort costs in the living environments can be reached within a short time and with lesser cost by preventing the heat transfers with the application of a thermal insulation. Moreover, the desired temperatures in the environment can be preserved for long periods of time. The most consumed combustubles in the world are most definitely the fossil fuels. On the other hand, the fast depletion of the fuel reserves has led the people to find and look for alternative energy sources. Besides, the methods for the conscious and economical use of decreasing energy sources are started to be researched. Thus, thermal insulation was firstly considered and put in use. The most important factor for the emergence of thermal insulation was the fast increase in the fuel prices after the petroleum crisis in 1973. In the beginning of the 1970’s, it took 27 lt of fuel/m2 annually to heat an insulated building in Germany whereas, for the buildings constructed in 2002, this cost was reduced to 7 lt/m2 per year. As a result of the insulation applications, both the budgets were eased and a significant support was provided to the national economy. A building, which is fully and correctly insulated, can provide the thermal heating with 25 times less energy and, at the same time, prevents the environmental pollution on a large scale. Furthermore, although thermal insulation applications in the buildings has higher initial costs, the system amortizes itself within 2-3 years; and thus, budgets return to profitability in the later years.

C) WATERPROOFING

One of the most important effects that cause the structures to be harmed is the dampness. The water that diffuses in our buildings causes the deformation and cracking of the concrete in the load bearing sections and the corrosion of the reinforcement placed in the reinforced concrete. Our structures are exposed to external sourced water such as rain, snow, soil moisture, and underground water and exposed to internal sourced water in the wet areas such as bathroom and toilet, etc.

The applications performed with the purpose of keeping the water out of the structures to protect it from water and its harmful effects, and keeping the water inside for the structures such as pools, drinking water storage tanks, and ponds are called “waterproofing” implementations.

D) ACOUSTIC INSULATION

The applications performed with the purpose of preventing the buildings, such as houses, schools, and office buildings, from the harmful effects of the noise by insulating the undesired sounds; enabling the usage conditions of the spaces, such as recording studios, movie theaters, concert halls etc., by insulating the undesired sounds; and reducing the noise of the noisy areas, such as generators, hydrophores, and central heaters, transferred to the environment are called " acoustic insulation" implementations.

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