7 Tips for Maintaining and Inspecting Insulation in Commercial Buildings

It is important to install correct and effective insulation in commercial buildings in order to maintain a level of comfort, reduce overhead costs, enforce energy sustainability and many other reasons.

However, while having insulation in your commercial property is great, without the correct inspection and maintenance, you may be left with ineffective insulation that, despite your best beliefs, is not actually effective and you will start to see energy bills rise among other issues.

Therefore, we have listed 7 key tips that can help you best maintain and inspect your insulation in order to ensure effectiveness, giving you the best performance on your insulation investment.

Why should you Maintain & Inspect your Commercial Building Insulation?

Without proper maintenance of your building’s insulation, you could be at risk of a series of potential issues such as:

  • Poor Energy Efficiency

The energy efficiency and regulation of temperatures across the property will be inconsistent and ineffective if your insulation is not performing properly. Therefore, by inspecting your installations, you can make sure that your insulation consistently serves its purpose throughout the winter and summer months.

  • Health & Safety Issues

If you leave insulation attended for a while, especially if your property is subject to adverse weather conditions, the materials used can become compromised. This may be in form of mould growth and condensation, which can quickly spread across your property causing respiratory issues and weakening the insulation.

  • Financial Problems

If your insulation is compromised, you will no longer reap the benefits of reducing energy consumption and your energy bill overheads every month.

  • Negative Environmental Impact

It is important to be responsible as a corporation and an individual. By installing effective energy-saving insulation, you can do just that. However, if you do not maintain and regularly inspect the insulation then your energy consumption may actually be increasing, in turn, growing your carbon footprint.

  • Discomfort

Employees and members who use the commercial building may experience increased levels of discomfort, draughts and temperature irregularities if your insulation begins to fail.

So now we understand the importance of performing maintenance and insulation inspection, so what are the best ways to do this?

 

How to Maintain and Inspect your Building Insulation?

  1. Check for Damages

These damages may include holes, tears and water stains. If you do notice any damage to your insulation, it would be best to consult a professional to find the source of the damage and to make sure your insulation is repaired or replaced.

Damaged insulation will degrade the effectiveness of the insulating materials.

  1. Check for Air Leaks

Air leaks pose a threat to your insulation, essentially you wish to keep the heat in during winter and the heat out during summer. However, with air leaks, your rooms and areas of your commercial property may be compromised, leading to an unregulated space.

  1. Clean & Dry

It is essential for insulation material to stay dry and clean (as possible) in order to maximise its performance. If insulation becomes wet, depending on the type you have installed, it can be severely weakened.

  1. Monitor Humidity Levels

Excessive humidity can quickly turn into mould which can spread across your insulation materials, rendering them ineffective and a danger to health and safety. Therefore, to properly maintain your building’s insulation, dehumidifying the air can be helpful for this.

  1. Insulation Placement

If your insulation is too heavily compressed, it can degrade its effectiveness. Importantly, in commercial buildings, there can be a lot of equipment and heavy items laying around, make sure not to stack them on top of your insulation material that could cause unwanted compression.

  1. Full Insulation

If you have areas of your property that are uninsulated, this can quickly let down other nearby areas, losing effectiveness across this focus. Therefore, if your commercial property is insulated across all areas, you can ensure maximum performance and effectiveness.

  1. Hire a Professional

By hiring a professional to inspect and maintain your insulation, you can ensure that it keeps to the maximum performance possible, additionally, they can provide recommendations, advice, reports and a lot more useful insights into your building’s insulation.