Why Insulate With Foam?Why insulate with foam insulation. It's a good question. And in these days of soaring energy
costs and uncertain supplies, there is an obvious answer. We believe you should harness the insulating power of foam insulation
for use in your home. Not only is it a wise decision, but
it is also practical to accomplish with a 21st Century state-of-the-art
sprayed foam insulation called Spray Foam Insulation You already know how well foam insulates. Think about the effectiveness of some common foam products that
we use on a regular basis: The Foam Coffee Cup...
..Just 1/8" of Foam
With An R-value Of Less Than One.
Go to your favorite
fast food restaurant or 7-11 store and buy a cup of coffee. Hold the foam cup in one hand and pour yourself a cup of steaming
hot coffee with the other hand. Go ahead...you won't burn
your hand. The foam cup will only be warm to the touch.
In fact, if the foam was a bit thicker, it is doubtful if you
could feel whether the coffee was hot or cold. Only the
steam would give it away. In this example, we think you'll
agree that just 1/8" of foam is a pretty effective insulator.
The Foam Picnic Chest...
..Just
1/2" of Foam With An R-value Of Only About Two.
This is the classic
example of the insulating power of foam and a great
illustration of the importance of air sealing the area you want
to heat or cool. Consider your experience with a foam picnic
chest. You can learn a great deal about insulating your
house from its' performance. You buy one at the local
drug store or Wal-Mart for a couple of dollars, and you entrust
it to keep your beverages cold for the weekend. Put in the
drinks and a bag of ice on Saturday morning, and put the lid down
tight, and it's pretty likely that you'll still have ice left
on Sunday night. (Whether or not there are drinks left is
another question!) You have just proved the insulating
power of about a half inch of foam with a relatively low R-value
(resistance to heat flow) of only about an R-2. (Frankly,
if your house was as efficient as this foam picnic chest, you'd
be ecstatic!)
HERE'S AN AGE OLD RIDDLE
ABOUT INSULATION.
Q. Which
is More Important...
Obtaining a Higher R-Value or Stopping Air Infiltration? This is an extremely important question. Let's say, for
example, that you put in the sodas and the ice in the foam
picnic chest above, but didn't put the lid down tight. The
ice would only last a few hours at best, and your drinks would
probably be lukewarm (or hot) by mid-day on Saturday. What
happened? The R-value didn't change...it's still an
R-2! So why did the ice melt? Because you
allowed air to leak into the picnic chest.
What should we learn from this example? The efficiency of
the picnic chest does depend on the insulating power
of the foam (its R-value), but its insulating ability is
somewhat irrelevant if you don't also control air infiltration the answer to the riddle, in our example, is that CONTROLLING
AIR INFILTRATION HAD MORE TO DO WITH KEEPING THE DRINKS COLD THAN
THE R-VALUE DID! What does all this have to do with your new house? We
think the same is true for your new home, and we believe that
your experience with a foam picnic chest is the most convincing
argument that you should insulate your new home with foam. Why? Because foam not only insulates extremely well,
but it will also stop air infiltration far better than fiberglass
products.
OK! You've Convinced Us To Insulate.
So Tell Us More About Spray Foam Insulation
Here's a recent application of Spray Foam Insulation
that we installed in a new home under construction.
This foam is not only a great insulator...but a great air
barrier, as well. Now that you are gaining an
appreciation for the benefits of foam, let's see how applying
it in your home can make it so much more efficient? You've
just seen how well 1/8" of foam insulates. And you've
seen a dramatic example of how well 1/2" of foam can both
insulate and airseal. But here's the good news.
In your home, we propose foam from seven to eleven times thicker
than the foam in a picnic chest Imagine the
efficiency you can achieve with that much foam, both to insulate
it and to prevent excess air infiltration. The result?
A home that will be more comfortable and efficient and affordable
to operate. And a home well prepared to cope with the energy
uncertainties we are certain to face in the years to come.
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