What is a U-Value?

If you are trying to understand the performance of insulation in your home, U-Values are one of the most important terms you’ll come across.

“A U-Value, also known as Thermal Transmittance, is a measurement of the rate at which a “building element” — such as a roof, wall, or floor — transfers heat. A lower U-Value indicates better overall performance.”

Additional Details:

U-Values are often the measure of thermal performance that is most widely known, because they are the measurement that are referenced in UK Building Regulations.

However, that doesn’t make them the best metric to understand the quality of any particular insulation product. In fact, they’re one of the worst metrics to rely on for quick comparisons between products.

U-Values are designed to measure the performance of full structures, this means they are highly dependent on the other materials included in the structure (including bricks from a wall, timber rafters, and even other insulation products). This makes it difficult to accurately use these values to compare individual components such as an insulation product.

Want to Find Out More?

If you’re interested in finding out more about U-Values and how they’re helping to keep homes warm; then you might be interested in checking out some of these posts…