Insulation: 4 Eco-Friendly Features of BluHomes Breeze

In the Philippines, we don’t want the heat outside to go inside our homes. Otherwise, we end up using air-conditioners that consume lots of energy and contribute to carbon emissions that warm the Earth. The way to prevent that is by insulation.
 
Insulation is the process of preventing unwanted temperatures outside to enter through the roof and exterior walls of the house, or what engineers call the building envelope. In the Philippines, this is by preventing heat from passing thought the roof and exterior walls of our house. Here are 4 ways how BluHomes Breeze, a townhouse in Amparo Caloocan, used insulation to make the house cooler and eco-friendly.

1. Super Insulated Roof

The type of roof and roof insulation used is the most critical in making the house cooler, as it is the one that receives direct sunlight. We don’t want this heat to penetrate through the roof and inside our homes.

BluHomes Breeze uses magnesium oxide roof that is 1/4" thick and has a white reflective film on the exposed side. Magnesium oxide is a type of material that has very high insulating properties. When the roof receives heat of 40°C on its exterior side, it will only be 30°C on the inside, making the house cooler and more comfortable.

2. Insulated Exterior Walls

The exterior walls also receive direct sunlight and radiant heat from outside. We do not want that heat to penetrate through the exterior walls and warm our house. Exterior walls need to be insulated as well to make our homes cooler.

The exterior walls at BluHomes Breeze are insulated. Aside from the 6” thick concrete hollow blocks, it also has a 1/4" thick magnesium oxide board insulation on the inner side of the exterior walls, same material as the roof. This prevents heat from penetrating through the exterior walls.

3. Light Colors

We all know that when you wear black clothes, you will feel warmer compared to when you wear white clothes. That is because of the heat-absorbing properties of colors. Darker colors absorb more heat and lighter colors absorb less.

Same is true for the homes. The lighter the color of the exterior walls, the less heat is absorbed and the cooler the house gets. That is why the colors of the façade of BluHomes Breeze are mostly white with accents of very light colors.

4. Semi-Landscaped

Concrete has a property called thermal mass. When concrete is exposed to hot environment, it absorbs that heat and stores it in its body. When it gets exposed to cool environment, it then releases that heat. That is why concrete radiates heat during night time even when the sun has already set. We do not want that in our homes.

That is the reason why the front yard of BluHomes Breeze is planted with grass instead of concrete, and its sidewalk is made up of perforated paver blocks with grass to reduce the amount of concrete outside the house. This makes the surroundings of the house cooler.

Insulating the house doesn’t just make the house cooler. It also makes the house eco-friendly. Since their homes are already cooler, the homeowner will be able to use less air-conditioners and electric fans, reduce their energy consumption, lower their electric bills, and reduce their carbon emissions that warm our Earth.
 
These types of homes are what we need in the future.
 
Learn more about BluHomes Breeze, an eco-friendly townhouse development in Amparo Caloocan, at www.bluhomes.ph/breeze.