Insulation Archives - Barrier Insulation Blog

What is Insulation R-Value?

When people search “What Is Insulation R-Value?” it is typically a new home owner or a business owner trying to understand how to insulate their property to save on utilities. Quality insulation which is installed by professionals simply saves on heating and cooling. This translates into lowered utilities and saving money.

What Does The Term “R-Value” Mean?

R-value is a measurement of the thermal resistance of materials. An easy way to understand it is a measurement of how well heat or cold transfers through a given material, such as wood, metal, or more importantly insulation. Insulation’s entire purpose is to restrict the transfer of heat or cold from or into our homes and businesses. Quality insulation options are graded with the R-Value system and the higher the number, the better the insulation is at stopping thermal transfer.

How Do People Use R-Value?

Generally R-Value is measured at a thickness of each individual type of insulation. This can be spray foam insulation, rolled batt insulation, blow in insulation, and many others. But each of them is assigned an R-Value performance rating, usually by the inch. This means that insulation contractors and homeowners can calculate the various insulation options performance given where the area that is having insulation installed. Attic insulation can vary based on the depth of the roof rafters or floor joists from 6 to 10 inches. Choosing a higher performance R-Value for areas where there is less space helps achieve thermally efficiently homes.

What About Air Leaks?

R-Value only will not create the energy efficient homes we all want. While to the casual observer homes and commercial properties look solid and air tight. The fact is that most building and homes have cracks, gaps, and lots of air leaks. Even when there is batt insulation in a regular wood stud wall wind can find its way through these air leaks and render it meaningless. Just a 20 mile per hour wind can take a R-19 wall and through air leaks turn it into an R-6.

Air Leak Solution

For home and business owners wanting to save money by lowering their utility bills, insulation can play a major role. Spray foam insulation is one of the best options due to a couple of key points. Firstly it helps seal up the cracks and gaps in your building or home. Secondly the performance of spray foam insulation in terms of R-Value is exceptional. When you are thinking about the best option for your properties which has excellent thermal resistance and helps shore up air leaks, Spray Foam Insulation is the way to go.

Valleywide Phoenix Insulation Contractors

If you live or operate a business in the Phoenix valley Barrier Insulation, Inc. has the experience, tools, and training to help you save money through improved insulation. Our insulation contractors work on both residential and commercial projects and offer every insulation variety to better serve our customers in Arizona.

We will install the spray foam insulation, batt insulation, or blown-in insulation you need to save money and live more comfortably anywhere in the Phoenix valley. Understanding “What R-Value Is” hopefully has made you more aware of how insulation works, and what your property might need. Give us a call for a free inspection and quote to improve your insulation and save money!

Call Barrier Insulation Today at 602-499-2922.

What Role Does Insulation Play?

The point of home insulation is to prevent sound or heat from moving from one space to another. Typically it is used in walls, attics, and floors to prevent heat or cold from moving into your living space. It can also be used to keep sound out of, or in your home. There are different types of raw materials that make up insulation, but the approach is usually the same. Materials are fabricated to create millions of tiny air pockets. The material along with the air pockets resists thermal transmission.

Insulation To Control Thermal Transfer

When the majority of people think of insulation it is heat control insulation they are thinking about. Thermal insulation is found in commercial and residential buildings in the attic, walls, ceilings, and even some floors. The outside walls and attic are the two areas that are usually most critical in keeping our homes comfortable.

The goal of thermal insulation is a very simple one, to keep either the heat or cold out of our homes. Depending on the region of the world you live in your insulation will be designed with a passive element to help accommodate the temperature swing from winter to summer. If it is always cold or hot where you live the insulation approach will be dedicated to prevent heat from entering or escaping.

R value is the term used to describe how much heat is controlled by any given insulation. The higher the number, the more effective the insulation is in preventing heat transfer. There are two ways R value is expressed in modern construction. The first is the overall R value of a structure including all building materials and the insulation, also known as RT. The second is the R value of each insulation type, also known as Rm. R values help make apple to apple decisions between various types of insulation.

Insulation To Control Sound Transfer

The word insulation also applies to the prevention of sound transfer. This can mean the sounds coming from outside your home which can disturb sleep, or it can mean sounds from your home. While all insulation also helps with refusing sounds there are dedicated acoustic insulation types. Acoustic insulation is typically only found in specialized rooms, like theater rooms in homes. It is installed in the floor, walls, and ceiling to keep the sound from disturbing others in the home, or neighbors.

If you live near a hospital, airport, or busy road you will also enjoy better sleep with insulation keeping the sound outside. There are specifically engineered products that will help keep those sounds out of your home and help you get more restful sleep.

Can’t Insulation Do Both Jobs?

Thermal insulation does reduce noise from outside and acoustic insulation does help with some heat transfer. However both are specialized for their specific purpose and lean towards their goals. For most quiet neighborhoods having thermal insulation is enough to keep the home quiet enough. However acoustic insulation can still be a good idea if there are bedrooms near other living spaces. It keeps the house sectioned off and helps people enjoy both spaces more.

What Types Of Insulation Are Available?

There are a few different types of insulation, all with their own particular benefits. Some are less expensive, and others have unmatched R values. Speak with your insulation professional about which will work best with your home.

Batt Insulation

Batt insulation is probably the most common type people think of when asked about insulation. Batts are generally made from rockwool or fiberglass. They are light panels with paper backing that are installed in between the studs in the walls and the rafters in attic spaces. Batts trap millions of tiny pockets of air between their fibrous materials.

Blown In Insulation

Another very common type of insulation is blown in insulation. Generally speaking the material is made up of cellulose or even recycled newspaper or denim. The material is blown by a machine into the attic and lays on the floor. Insulation techs make a nice even layer of the insulation that lays on the floor of the attic.

Spray In Insulation

One of the newer and best insulation types available is spray in insulation. It comes in two variants, closed and open cell insulation. Open cell spray foam is water permeable and creates millions of tiny open pockets of air. Closed cell has one of the best R values available because it also creates millions of tiny air pockets. However it is more effective because the pockets are closed and trap pockets of specialized gas. Each type helps to seal up gaps in the attic and the walls it is installed in.

Acoustic Insulation

Insulation that is designed to give the maximum sound resistance generally consists of much higher density material. It is often made with polymer based materials like glue or rubber. While it will help with some heat transfer the tight nature of the material is not as good as thermal insulation. It is a good product to use in conjunction with thermal insulation to get the perfect combination of comfortable temperatures in the home, and the quiet sanctuary all of us desire.

Phoenix Valley Insulation Installation

If you have a drafty home that isn’t staying warm in winter or cool in summer you probably either don’t have insulation, or have worn out insulation. The experts at Barrier Insulation will happily do an insulation inspection and help you find the weak points in your home’s thermal barrier. This will do more than keep you comfortable, but help dramatically reduce your energy bills. To get started today call 602-499-2922 or .

9 Ways to Increase Energy Efficiency Part 3

Here we go with part 3 of our series of tips for increasing your home’s energy efficiency. We have covered four tips so far in the series and will be hitting you with two more today! Energy efficiency has a direct correlation to your bank account because it heavily impacts your energy bill and how expensive or cheap it will routinely be. We highly recommend reading every part of this series in order to transform and maximize the energy efficiency of your home.

Heating and Cooling Upgrades

Upgrading your heating and cooling system to a more modern model will immediately upgrade the energy efficiency of your home as soon as it is powered on. Some older homes will see a major difference if they are using old and outdated appliances that are the electrical equivalent of gas guzzling vehicles. Having power bills in the neighborhood of $400 is absurd and should not be experienced with the advancements available in 2015. For instance, gas furnaces are roughly 25% more efficient now than they were in the 70’s. There are new versions of appliances and new methods of installation and insulating that have developed over the past ten years that can not only change the efficiency with which your home operates, they will increase the overall value of your property immensely. Modernizing your home is always a good idea, especially if you have owned it for a while or if you recently bought an older home.

Water Heater Adjustments

Water heaters can often get lost as part of the scenery in a home rather than an appliance you would actively interact with. Often times, they aren’t even in a location that is regularly visible so the old ‘out of sight, out of mind’ adage is definitely at play. For such an overlooked appliance, the water heater checks in as the second largest consumer of energy in any home. Making sure the heater is set to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (the most efficient setting) and that it is well insulated to conserve energy will pay dividends whenever you power bill arrives.

Stay tuned for our next two tips in part four of our series in our next entry!

Blown-In Insulation vs. Batt Insulation

When it comes to insulation, there are several types that are prominently used for various reasons. When you are considering which type of insulation you want to go with knowing the nuances of each type and how they compare to each other. In this blog entry we are going to compare Batt insulation to Blown-in insulation. These are two of the most commonly used insulation types and may very well be the style that you end up choosing.

Blown-In Insulation: This insulation type requires a professional technician with the necessary equipment to install it. The main advantage of blown-in insulation is the fact it can be blown into tight places that would be otherwise hard to insulate. Blown-in insulation is made from cellulose which is an affordable material that is safer to be exposed to than fiberglass. This insulation type can compact over time, which will cause it to lose overall efficiency, which is one of its few cons. Blown-in insulation should be strongly considered as it is both highly effective, more versatile in where it can be placed, as well as being affordable.

Batt Insulation: Batt is one of the most widely spread types of insulation available today. The reason for this is its low cost and how easy it is to install. Batt insulation comes in a foam roll that is meant to be cut into the shapes of the spaces you intend to insulate. This style does have its limitations as it is not suitable for crawl spaces and other hard to reach areas that should be insulated. Installation needs to be handled needs to be handled very carefully as any missteps can greatly affect the energy efficiency of the insulation in a negative way. Batt insulation is also prone to becoming compacted which can greatly harm its ability to effectively insulate.