The Benefits of Foam Insulation

If you’re considering having an older home renovated or updating old insulation, you have a few options to pick from. You can have your home insulated with fiberglass insulation, better known as the rolls of pink insulation commonly found in attics and in walls, or you can have your home insulated with spray foam.

Foam insulation offers a few advantages over the older fiberglass insulation including the ease to apply it and a higher R value, which results in a home with a higher R value.
Fiberglass insulation is generally rolled out and secured in place or blown in to create a pile of fiberglass insulation in the attic. This means using a lot of product and still not reaching every hard to reach nook and cranny.

Insulation on the other hand offers the advantage of being applied in the form of a liquid through a spray nozzle by a trained technician. Once it is sprayed in place it becomes foam that can mold and expand itself into hard to reach nicks and crannies. Because it can expand and fill where it is needed, foam insulation provides a tighter seal against the elements than other insulation choices including fiberglass.

If you are considering this insulation, there are two types of foam insulation to choose from. You can select either an open cell or closed cell foam product. Closed cell foam has a higher R value than open cell foam insulation. Of course how much R value you need will depend on a variety of factors including what type of climate you live in, how old your home is and how many energy leaks your home has. Even newer homes can be under insulated or improperly insulated and have areas of energy loss.

In addition to cutting down high energy bills, foam insulation can also stop air, moisture, mold and pollution from entering the home making it a good multi purpose product. The cost of the insulation varies from $1.25 to $2.25 per square foot depending on a variety of factors including geographic location and how much insulation is needed.

And of course as you try to go green and become more environmentally friendly with your building choices it can be noted that insulation doesn’t contain HCFC’s a colorless gas that has been phased out of use in other areas of construction products because of its harmful effects on the ozone layer.

With all of the benefits that foam insulation can offer, including a good R value, the ease of installation and being environmentally friendly, it makes since to use foam insulation to create a home that is energy efficient without spending a lot of money to save money on your energy bills.