Siding Energy Insulation Performance

Home siding is one of the biggest home improvement projects which directly impacts on the value and appearance of your home while delivering energy and noise insulation efficiencies. There are numerous siding solutions on the market and they provide a wide variety of choice in style and appearance, cost, ease of installation, maintenance and energy and cost-saving efficiency.

The best siding variant to use when you are looking to maximize the cost-savings from reducing energy consumption
and improve your thermal and noise insulation performance of your home are stucco and vinyl siding.
Originally, vinyl siding panels came with a separate foam insulation backing, but modern vinyl siding solutions are integrated to ease installation and reduce costs further. Integrated vinyl siding panels are much more energy efficient as well.
Stucco siding also provides comparable thermal insulation efficiencies however, vinyl siding is considerably cheaper and simpler to install for home-owners. Stucco siding has undergone a design and production transformation in much the same way as vinyl siding, with modern stucco installations able to trap pockets of air which as an insulating barrier against both cold and hot temperatures.
Stone and cement fiber siding provide the lowest thermal insulation benefits; both these forms of siding have significant benefits to offer, however if you are are looking to improve thermal insulation and energy efficiency of your home, they are not viable alternatives for your home improvement project. Stone and cement fiber siding simply do not trap pockets of air to the extent where it can act as an effective thermal insulator, however they are low cost, low maintenance and extremely strong and durable.
Aluminum siding also offers very low thermal protection and insulation and its efficiency varies in direct proportion to the external temperature. In cold weather, aluminum siding will act as an effective conductor of your heat from inside the home to the colder exterior – as a metal it is an extremely good thermal conductor which is the direct opposite of an insulator! Homes using aluminum siding tend to be cold in winter or produce high heating costs for their owners, though there are insulated aluminum siding panels which can be used but this simply increases the cost of the installation and still does not render them as effective as vinyl or stucco siding solutions.
When a home-owner includes cost-effectiveness in with thermal insulation effectiveness, then there is one clear winner
Written by Jack Labens
Keith Smallwood is the president of Creative Energy Exteriors, a leading provider of Richmond home improvement services and products such as Richmond composite windows and Richmond Hardiplank siding. Creative Energy Exteriors can be found online at: CreativeEnergyExteriors.com .