Insulating your home is an important step in creating an energy-efficient and comfortable living space. There are a variety of insulation methods available, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Spray foam insulation is a cost-effective and energy efficient way to insulate your home. It consists of spraying polyurethane or latex foam on an area with an aerosol can or other equipment.
As the foam is sprayed, it helps to fill small gaps and cracks in the areas to prevent air from escaping through them. This form of insulation is generally used around doors, electrical outlets, plumbing pipes, ventilation grilles, and windows. In addition to insulating an area, spray foam also helps prevent mold and mildew growth. A reflective insulation system involves placing reflective materials, such as sheets, papers, or films on unfinished attics, roofs, floors, or walls. Rather than reducing heat flow in a home, like most forms of insulation, reflective systems reflect heat away from the house.
As such, this form of insulation is especially beneficial in hot climates. By reflecting heat, this insulation prevents heat transfer, especially downstream heat flow, from heating colder areas inside the house. As such, reflective insulation is usually placed between areas where heat is likely to enter a house, such as beams and joists. While this method can be installed without a professional, its effectiveness depends largely on the spacing of the materials.
As such, professional assistance is recommended for best results. Polyurethane foam is a relatively lightweight form of insulation with a large amount of insulating power. Such foams are installed using an aerosol foam insulation method and can be applied to areas that have not been previously isolated. An advantage of this effective insulation method is that it is fire resistant. Insulation is a vital component in any home that is energy efficient. It is usually placed in areas where air escapes, such as between the cavities of the uprights inside walls and in the attic, it serves to slow down and reduce heat transfer.
By sealing air leaks and adding proper insulation to the attic, tight spaces and the basement, homeowners can save an average of 15 percent on heating and cooling costs and 11 percent on total energy costs according to estimates from the US Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Program. There are certain considerations to consider when working with different types of insulation. First, some insulators, such as fiberglass blocks, burst insulators, and spray foam, can irritate the skin and respiratory tract and can cause other health problems. For this reason, adequate ventilation, personal protective equipment for the eyes, hands, skin, and respiratory tract, and safe installation procedures are absolutely necessary. While most may be familiar with blankets, blocks, and rolls as forms of insulation available for walls, there are a few other types of insulation products that can be used in DIY projects to increase thermal efficiency and comfort inside a home. Perhaps the most standard form of insulation available for walls is typically constructed of fiberglass; however versions made of cotton, mineral wool, sheep's wool, and plastic fibers are also available.
This is one of the cheapest types of insulation and is an easy to install product since the materials are designed to fit the standard width between wall posts, attic beams and floor joists. Aerosol foam insulation seals leaks and gaps within existing walls. The liquid polyurethane is sprayed into the wall cavity where it then expands and hardens to form a solid foam. When working with a larger area homeowners can use a foam insulator sprayed under pressure (foamed on site).Blow insulation is applied with a machine that blows a paper-like material into the space to be insulated. This type of insulation is usually made of fiberglass rock wool or recycled cellulose material (such as recycled newspapers or cardboard) which adapts to almost any type of location even the most annoying obstructions.
For blow insulation R values range from R-2.2 for fiberglass to R-3.8 for dense cellulose. Simple insulation jobs can be easy to do if a local home improvement store or tool rental has the fan for rent but it may be worth considering calling a professional for better results. Many homeowners rely on polyurethane polystyrene or polyisocyanurate foam boards as part of their exterior and interior wall cladding as they work well to insulate everything from foundation walls and basement walls to unfinished floors and ceilings. The R values usually vary between R-4 and R-6.5 per inch of thickness which indicates that foam plates and rigid foam panels reduce energy consumption better than many other types of insulation on the market. Rock wool or mineral wool made from extruded lava rock is an excellent insulating material for typical wood-framed residential structures. This material is made of lava rock which the manufacturer spins at high speeds creating fine strands of material similar to fiberglass.
It insulates against heat transfer and sound and is resistant to fire and moisture. Rock wool is more expensive than fiberglass but it's just as easy to install. It usually comes in rolls of blocks in pre-cut widths for easy installation. It provides up to R-3.3 per inch of thickness meaning it outperforms most other block materials. Closed-cell spray foam insulation is also suitable for floors walls and ceilings; applications can achieve much higher R values for every inch of thickness than other insulation products with values up to R-6.2 per square inch (approximately R-34 on a 2 × 6 wall).
Common areas where blow insulation can be installed include closed or open wall cavities attic floors and other hard-to-reach places. There are also different types of barriers that can be part of an insulating product or sold and installed separately to increase heat and vapor transfer through a wall assembly. Installing insulation on walls during the construction or renovation process of a house increases the energy efficiency of the building saving money on heating and cooling costs while providing comfort throughout all seasons.
