By Brad Kirkland, CSI, Kingspan Insulated Panels

There are so many great advantages that come with living in warm climates. Although the warm sun is a prime condition for a fun outdoor lifestyle, when it comes to all things indoors is where the trouble begins. An overbearing sun may be okay if you are laying out on a beach somewhere, but you don’t want the same conditions beaming into your building. This is why it is important to fortify your building with insulated metal panels (IMPs). It’s the best way to protect your building against intense summer rays.

Cost To Cool

Now before anyone can tell you IMPs are your solution, you must recognize the issues that are out there in the first place. When you live in a warm climate, and the sun is constantly beating your walls with its ultraviolet rays, if you don’t have IMPs in place there is very little protection between you and the sun.

Without insulated metal panels in place, the rays are able to hit and penetrate your walls with ease and this is where the problem begins.

There are three big sources of heat transfer, but when it comes to warm summer rays and your walls it is conduction that should have you on high alert. Conduction is the transfer of heat through a solid object. The solid object that you would be concerned with would be your walls.

Heat always flows from hot to cold. When left unprotected, the hot air will pass through the layers of your wall and enter in your building to be absorbed by the cool air provided by your air conditioner. As a result you will need to run the air conditioner longer and harder to maintain a comfortable room temperature. Of course the longer and harder you run your A.C. — the more money you will need to spend to stay cool.

IMPs help as they hold a high R-Value and a low thermal conductivity, which provides your building with a superior thermal performance. As a form of continuous insulation, there are no gaps or pockets left unprotected, and they are even air tight around the joints. All of which will help keep the heat out and your cool air in.

Moisture Infiltration

Another big issue in warmer climates is humidity. This word is commonly used in places that are warm, but what does it really mean other that acknowledging it is hot outside? Basically the process goes like this: When the Earth heats up; water evaporates from the Earth’s surface. As the Earth’s surface cools, the vapor rises through the air like a thick cloud of heat. It is this extra moisture, or humidity, in the air that makes it difficult for sweat to evaporate on a hot sunny day. And if you don’t have IMPs installed on your building, this is what will be penetrating your walls and entering your building.

To further examine the actual effects of vapor entering the building, you don’t have to go much further than the insulation. If your building does not have a proper vapor barrier, when the vapor penetrates the walls, moisture will then get trapped in the insulation and become wet. As we spoke about the sweat on your body being unable to evaporate, the wet insulation will also remain trapped inside your walls, unable to evaporate quickly enough.

This wet insulation leads to mold and mildew, and mold and mildew leads to allergies and other illnesses. IMPs act as an air, water, and vapor barrier. Properly installed you can eliminate the fear of these harmful penetrations. With no gaps or joints left unprotected, IMPs are the perfect way to keep your building both airtight and weather-tight over its lifetime.

One additional great feature, other then being aesthetically pleasing, is the notion that they can be added to almost any new or retrofitted building. So if you don’t already have IMPs installed, speak to your local contractor today to find out how you can maximize your energy efficiency with the help of insulated metal panels.