Tri-County Insulation & Acoustical Contractors

Factors that will affect the selection of the right insulation for your home include:

• Take into account climate, building design & size, your living habits, and budget
• Use higher-density insulation on exterior walls or in cathedral ceilings
• Install attic vents to reduce moisture content and keep the attic cooler in summer, thereby lowering heating bills

To understand the types of materials available to you for insulation against conduction and convection, you need to understand something called an R-value. This is a rating that indicates a material's ability to resist heat flow; the higher the R-value of the insulation, the better it will resist heat transfer. Therefore, you should purchase your home insulation based upon R-value rather than on its material weight.

Here are the four primary types of insulation for reducing heat conduction and convection:

1. Rolls and bats, or blankets: these are flexible products made from mineral fibers such as fiberglass and wool. These are available in widths suited to standard spacing measurements between home wall studs, as well as in the spaces between attic or floor joists.
2. Loose-fill insulation: this type of insulation is made of fiberglass, rock wool, or cellulose in the form of loose fibers or fiber pellets. It is blown into the spaces to be insulated using pneumatic equipment. The blown-in material does a great job of conforming to cavities and attics. Therefore, it is ideal for when it is tough to use other types of insulation due to the contours of the inside of the attic.
3. Rigid foam insulation: Rigid foam is more expensive than fiber insulation. However, when higher R-values are needed, rigid foam is ideal. Its R-values are about 2 times higher than other types of insulation of a similar thickness.
4. Foam in-place insulation: This type of insulation can be blown into walls and reduces air leakage when blown into cracks and door frames.

The four types of insulation materials mentioned above are excellent for preventing heat transfer via conduction and convection, but they have zero effect on radiation. For that, the best material available is radiant barrier foil. This form of insulation is almost paper-thin as compared to other types of insulation, but in terms of insulation ability it is a real power player. In fact, radiant barrier foil reflects a full 97% of radiant heat from hitting an object - something that fiber and foam-based insulation products cannot do at all.
Radiant foil looks a bit like metallic paper. In some cases, it is perforated to allow the passing through of moisture. It is available in rolls of varying lengths, depending upon your insulation needs.

Here at Tri-County Insulation & Acoustical Contractors we have 40+yrs of service in CA and the surrounding ares.Our trained Technicians will inspect your home free of charge.

In terms of a comprehensive insulation solution, radiant barrier foil works best when used in conjunction with one or more of the types of insulation mentioned in the previous section. Together, these types of insulation can effectively work together to insulate against all three types of heat flow.