Posts Tagged ‘fiberglass’
Every year new insulation products are introduced into the construction industry. It used to be that crumbled up newspapers, old shoes and clothing in the best way to insulate walls in homes. Fiberglass, cellulose and now spray foam are common materials. What happens to these materials? It’s actually better than the other? What should be the main factors homeowners consider when choosing to insulate their homes?
Spray foam, cellulose and fiberglass insulation are good products.
There is a war of values of R. The manufacturers claim that their product has substantially higher R value than its competitors. The fact is there is not much difference.
R-value is simply a measure of resistance. It is a measure of how an insulating material resistant to temperature differences. If the outside is freezing cold, greater resistance is preferable to keep the interior warm. Therefore, the higher the R value, the better the insulation.
For the most part, spray foam, cellulose and fiberglass have similar R-values. They are large, time-tested materials and provide great insulation. The only exception is that a polyurethane foam has almost double the R value of the products mentioned. The price of the foam is also double.
Appropriate methods of isolation are more important than the material itself.
All insulation is only as good as the installation. Therefore, it is very important that installers to fill every void. Gaps in the top of the walls or bottom of the walls greatly compromise the performance of the insulation is. In fact, the highest R-value of material does not provide many benefits if the installation was poor.
When the renovation of an existing house, this is the most common problem. The walls are closed chambers and the installation of insulation with zero gap is almost impossible. Make sure the installer has years of experience and comes with good recommendations.
Insulate your home is ultimately a matter of economics
It is true that people often threw the papers and clothing on their wall systems during the 1900s. The costs of heating in the houses were much lower, so isolation was not a big concern. Since the 1940s, the cost of heating oil increased exponentially. Every decade since, recommendations insulation R value has increased. It is important that one understand the cost savings to insulate your home.
Some homeowners who have the highest values of R in its walls and at the same time do not consider their attics. Since heat rises, it is better to increase the values of R in the attic insulation then insulate the walls. With the new foam products, some owners also think that the more expensive the insulation, the better. When the fact is that the amount of insulation needed to do with climate and energy costs. It is better to isolate the current DOE recommendations of isolating so strongly that there is no economic advantage. In fact, the insulation too much can cause other problems that lead to expensive solutions (ie, limited ventilation).
When considering insulation, homeowners should not worry too much with the product as well as the cost of installing the product. As always with any remodeling or building new construction, offers a number of experienced, isolators are recommended major cost savings and insulation values.
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