I am trying to write a report for school on which insulation is best to use in the walls of your new home. I am pretending that it is 30X40 and that we are only insulating the exterior walls, so that would mean that the length of the walls is 140 feet and the height is 9 feet, making the square footage 1260.
The following questions are what I am going to use to determine the best type of insulation to use. Now since there are so many types out there I have narrowed my data down to 4 types: Batt, rigid, blown in and sprayed. Please answer the following questions for my research.
1. Why insulate?
2. Which type is the most energy efficient? Why?
a. Batt Insulation
b. Rigid Insulation
c. Spray foam insulation
d. Blown in-loose fill insulation
3. Which is easiest to install? Do-it-yourself?
a. Batt Insulation
b. Rigid Insulation
c. Spray foam insulation
d. Blown in-loose fill insulation
4. What is the cost of each and are they locally available?
a. Batt Insulation?
b. Rigid Insulation?
c. Spray foam insulation?
d. Blown in-loose fill insulation?
5. Is it Soundproof?
a. Batt Insulation?
b. Rigid Insulation?
c. Spray foam insulation?
d. Blown in-loose fill insulation?
6. Can it be used in the wall cavity?
a. Batt Insulation?
b. Rigid Insulation?
c. Spray foam insulation?
d. Blown in-loose fill insulation?
If there is any other questions I should ask or any suggestions please feel free to let me know. I just need to write about which type of insulation is the best. I know there is so much out there and some are used for different places....but if I could get a few different people responding and letting me know from their experience what the best is, what is most energy efficient, what the cost might be and what it takes to install. Would be greatly appreciated.
Insulating is very important to keep the heat in during the winter and cold in during the summer.
As for what type to use. Housing code calls for r-22 batt insulation. It's the most inexpensive, but meets the requirements for energy star. Some Builders are also using rigid insulation on the exterior walls instead of plywood.
The easiest to install is batt insulation. Definitely able to do it yourself.
It's hard to answer this question because there are so many types of product for each variation of insulation. But it is all locally available.
The most sound resistant insulation is icynene(type of spray foam), and roxul also has some sound resistant properties.
Batt and spray foam are the most popular for filling wall cavities. Some companies can fill the cavities with blown isolation, but it will settle and not be as effective as batt or spray.
I hope this has been helpful.
I always recommend using spray foam when possible. It has the best insulating properties and will provide a thermal break that no other type of insulation can. 90% of heat loss is from the headers in your basement, use it here when you can!
Spray foam saves you money in the long run.
Search the TrustedPros directory and discover the best contractors in your area.
Find your home service pro