Insulation for homes is more than just a trend or a vanity; it is a necessity that can greatly benefit a home. The Department of Energy has recognized the importance of insulation in a home, so much so that it has dedicated a part of their website discussing home insulation and suggesting places in a house that needs to be insulated.

Benefits of Home Insulation

The benefits that homeowners can experience have become the primary driving force in promoting and using home insulation.

According to the Department of Energy and insulation experts; properly installed home insulation can help homeowners save a lot of money on top of making their homes as comfortable as possible regardless of the season. Insulation can save homeowners a lot of money from heating, cooling, and electricity costs by ensuring that your homes are efficiently using every bit of energy it consumes.

With the right type of insulation material installed by a knowledgeable insulation contractor, insulation can trap the warmth during cold seasons and the cold during warmer seasons without overworking HVAC systems or allowing these systems to expend too much energy.

Insulation R Value and Types of Insulation Materials

It is important to note, that there are different  types of insulation materials and they do not perform the same.The effectiveness of thermal insulating materials’to resist conductive heat is measured through the ‘r value’. As a general rule, good thermal insulators have higher r values while poor-performing insulators have lower values.

Although it is ideal to install insulation in a home, it is best to learn how the different types, sub-types, and their respective r value.

Do-It-Yourself vs. Insulation Contractor and Insulation Company

Do-It-Yourself or DIYis always an available option for homeowner when installing insulation for homes; however, wrong and inappropriately placed and cut insulation can decrease the insulation r value as well as increase health risks. That is why, employing the services of an experienced and knowledgeable insulation contractor or insulation company is strongly encouraged!

Here at Synergy Insulation we are here to help you find the best, local insulation contractors.

According to studies and the Department of Energy, homeowners can save money on their energy consumption and maintain their homes’ comfort with properly installed home insulation. However, it is important to note that different thermal insulation materials have different elemental advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Different Types of Insulation:

At Synergy, we want homeowners to find the best type of insulation that suits their needs. Below is a chart that breaks down the pros and cons of each type of insulation.
 

Installing Home Insulation

Homeowners can always choose to install insulation themselves. However, improperly installed insulation materials may cost them more than they can save. When it comes to installing insulation, it is better to rely on the help of an experienced and trustworthy insulation contractor or insulation company.

Spray Foam Roofing And Support

Spray Foam Insulation does have a high density but it is lightweight. It also gives support to the roof surface where it is applied. This has been an excellent roof insulation method since many years and to many households. You can notice the changes in the energy bills after installation of this system on your roof. So take the opportunity to save up to 70% of the energy consumption and reduce your bills effectively! The durability of Spray Foam roofing is extraordinary. If the installation process was done properly, then you can enjoy this insulation for many years. Obviously, maintenance is required in every 10 to 15 years when cleaning and re-coating the insulation maybe done. It has been known that Spray Foam Roofing if properly maintained and installed last more than the life of an average human being! Inspection should be done regularly at least once in a year to notice any minor damages to the installation. However, if any major damages are noticed, then re-coating and applying Spray Foam may be required. Obviously, the life of the insulation is extended on every re-coating.

The Inuslation Effects Of Foam Roofing

Convection of heat happens through the roof of any building. Providing a thermal blanket to your roof ensures that your home is protected and shielded from any infrared rays. This way the roof wouldn’t heat up and thus there is no convection of heat making the inside of the building hot. Thus in the summer months, you will require lesser air conditioning, thus reducing the cooling costs to a considerable extent. Similarly, in the winters, the heat or warmth present inside the building is preserved. This way, spray foam roofing reduces energy costs. It can be applied on any roof surface and can also be custom applied according to any specific requirements if any. A coating of gravel should also be applied once the insulation layer has been applied.

The Easy Maintenance

For normal maintenance, the insulation layers can also be walked upon. The temperatures of your roof can be lowered significantly by Spray Foam Roofing. You will probably have no face no rust problems and also no kind of water leakage. Maintenance is also simple thus reducing your expenses. Once you pay for Spray Foam Roofing for your commercial as well as household building, you can enjoy the benefits for a lifetime with minimum maintenance costs. Correct installation requires using correct machinery and equipment so that the benefits can be availed. Almost all countries have adopted Spray Foam Roofing as their insulation on the roofs since there are numerous benefits that this insulation provides.

Polyurethane, popularly known as spray foam is used as an insulation material while building homes/ commercial buildings these days. It is made of isocyanate and polyol resin. While in the past fibre glass was a popular choice as an insulator but it is now slowly fading out and spray foam is taking its place.

Types

The spray foam can be broadly classified into two categories, open and closed cell. The broad difference between the two being the presence of gaps in open cells while there are no gaps in closed cells.

Closed Cell Insulation

The closed cell insulation is a very tight insulator with no scope of cracks, seams or crevices. The closed cell spray foam has no gaps or holes in its cell structure hence making it higher in density, heavier and stronger. This in turn makes it a better insulator. While both the spray foams are good air insulators, the closed cell spray foam is also a better moisture insulator because of its no gap cell structure. The closed cell insulation can be used outdoors as well.

Advantages

Air insulation: One of the major advantages is that it is an excellent air insulator. Because of the tight packing it does not allow any air to enter through holes, crevices etc.

Moisture resistant: Mold infestation is a major problem in households. The best of traditional methods of insulating buildings have not been able to resolve this issue. In closed cell spray foam insulation the tight cell structure doesn’t allow any moisture to enter the house. In turn there is no mold infestation in the house which makes the building allergy free.

Makes the building dust proof: Since the house is sealed properly and there are no crevices or cracks in the walls or on the roofs there is no scope of dust and other irritants like pollen to enter the house hence making it allergy proof to quiet an extent.

Pest Resistant: The Spray foam also makes the building; pest, rodents and insects resistant as all the corners are tightly packed, sealed and create a good blockade for them.

Energy Saver: One of the very important advantage because of which spray foam closed cell insulation wins over the traditional insulation is that it conserves energy. Due to no leakages in the house or no thermal transfers, the temperature that is attained by the air conditioners or air heaters is maintained. It has high energy efficiency. This in turn also results in major cut down on electricity bills.

Strength to building structure: As discussed above closed cell spray foam insulators have higher density and the cell structure has no gaps. This makes the structure stronger. Hence the closed cell insulator adds strength to the building structure.

Maintenance: It is a wise long term investment which comes with very low maintenance cost in the long run.

Noise Level: With the increasing urbanization , noise is a major concern for one and all. The taut design of the closed cell spray foam cuts down on the noise levels, which comes as a big relief to the residents.

There are many options to pick from when it comes to home insulation, for instance spray foam or cellulose, At times, you might not even know what may be best. Sometimes, we tend to go for what may seem to be cheapest for our pocket at the moment, because lets face it, we all like to economize! But honestly, it’s always best to sit and evaluate our options. Let’s take a look at some reasons why spray foam is the best choice for you, your home and family.

Just looking at these few things, we see why it is best to go for spray foam insulation. In the long run, it is the best option. Why settle for spending a little bit but having to deal with negative results in the future? Unlike cellulose, spray foam is also better because as seen above, you get better insulation throughout your home when applied. Spray foam is applied in a liquid form which allows for it to enter small areas that cellulose does not reach, filling in all those tiny crevices on your ceiling. When applied it expands. You can cover all your walls or ceilings in a more efficient and faster manner.

Another important reason on why you should pick spray foam rather is because it does not shrink in size or change its shape when it has been set which is great, unlike cellulose, its power for insulation decreases when the space is compressed causing the power to insulate to decrease with time due to the material settling beneath its own weight.

The simple fact of having a better insulating home when using spray foam means that you are spending less on those electric bills you hate to see during the cold season or during those hot days!

Whatever method it is that you decide to choose, it all really comes down to one very small and simple factor: insulation is important when creating a cozy and perfect home. Make the best choice!

So you’ve been living in your current home for several years, maybe decades by now and are considering renovating and adjusting some things especially now that the winter is on its way! Among these tasks is insulating your home for the bitter cold days to come because your home gets extremely cold during the winter and extremely hot during the summer.

Older homes usually do not have  or were probably never given proper insulation when built. What possible effect could this have? With the constant climate change sometimes it gets hard to keep up with the homes comfort and energy efficiency. In some states, having older homes not well insulated can result as an issue because they could have already turned into cold and drafty homes. Many have stopped such issues choosing to insulate their homes properly.

Spray foam insulation is among the popular options in the market and is being used in many buildings old and new and even commercial buildings among others. Why? Compared to other insulation methods, spray foam insulation has amongst the best R-values out there. The higher the R-value the higher the better energy efficiency will be.

Spray foam insulation is great in so many different aspects but among them is that when used and properly applied, it will perform two very important and essential functions at once:

• It will create an effective air barrier
• It will produce a thermal envelope

When both of these things are accomplished, they work side by side continuously to yield the very best results for your home, your comfort and energy efficiency. This will not only produce the best comfort you have had in years but it will also be a relieve for your pocket because with the energy efficieny this method will produce, your bills will be much lower than you imagined. Many have found this to be the best insulation method for their home, stop hesitating and make the right choice today for you and your home. Spray foam insulation is the way to go.

You have finally decided that it is time to either upgrade your current insulation at home or finally insulate your home. The only problem you have now though, is one of the many choices people like you face when making this decision: What insulation types are available and which is the best? In San Antonio, Texas, there are various different option to choose from. Let’s take a look at a few of these.

In San Antonio you can find the following types of insulation:

1. Radiant barrier insulation.
This sort of insulation, also known as reflective insulation, is a type of thermal insulation that inhibits heat transfer by thermal radiation.

2. Spray foam insulation
Spray polyurethane foam (SPF) is a spray-applied plastic that can form a continuous insulation and air sealing barrier on walls, roofs, around corners, and on all contoured surfaces. It is known amongst the best type of insulation form in the market. This sort of insulation covers hard to get nooks and crannies that most others cannot.

3. Blown-in insulation
Blown insulation, also called loose fill insulation, is commonly used to insulate existing structures that previously had no insulation, or where additional insulation is needed. It is made up of loose particles which are blown into an attic or into wall cavities.

4. Fiberglass insulation
Fiberglass insulation is a man-made construction material used to limit thermal changes, as well as sound transmission, in buildings. It is composed of bundles of very thin strands of glass.

5. Cellulose insulation
Cellulose insulation is plant fiber used in wall and roof cavities to insulate, draught proof and reduce noise.Although there are many types it is important to see which suites your home best and their R-value. The higher the R-value the better performance the insulation will give.

It is now time to remodel your home and make some modifications and amongst those modifications comes the task of insulating. One of your main priorities is insulating your attic space. Now its time to take a look at how this should be done and if you’re looking into applying spray foam as your insulation method, some of the things you have to keep in mind before getting started.

When it comes to insulating homes and different areas within this, many people day after day are becoming fans of spray foam insulation vs other commonly known and used insulation methods. The price is definitely worth the advantages you get day by day, month after month and year after year. One of the many benefits of this insulating method is the money you save on your energy bills, most save up to 40% on the energy bills and that means extra bucks for your pocket.

Spray foam insulation is also the best option for your attic because the attic is one of the areas where there tends to be air leakage. What does this mean you may wonder? Air leakage is a term used to describe the crevices and areas where air “leaks.” For example if its a cold day you will turn up your heater and if your attic is not properly sealed then the warm air will leak or escape through there. That is where spray foam insulation comes in, when used in your attic and properly installed, it will prevent all this air leakage saving you energy.

Now it is also important to know what type of attic you have whether it is a vented attic space or non-vented space. If you have a traditional vented attic space the insulation is used on the attic floor so that is helps insulate the ceiling from the seasonal cold or the heat. The spray foam will be typically installed in the floor joists and depending on sometimes in the gable, ridge vents and soffits of the homes roof structure.

On the other hand, if you have a non-vented attic space the insulation method will change slightly. When applied, the spray foam will be sprayed on the undersides of the roof between the joists unlike the previous one. It will also be necessary to apply it around the rim and also into the soffit areas on the gable wall ends and this will seal any leakage spots in the entire attic area.

When it is applied in this manner, it will insulate your attic space from the heat that came in and hit the hot shingles sheathing and roof. Your attic will now be a conditioned space in your home and when you enter it you will even feel it as comfortable as any other room in your home throughout the entire year, whether it is hot on cold outside.

It is very important to make sure you do not try and do this yourself, rather to have this applied by a professional in order to get the best results.

You’ve probably have heard this term many times: thermal envelope. What is a thermal envelope? Don’t worry its not a letter you get from your bill collector! In fact every single house has a thermal envelope and this thermal envelope in a few words is the boundary between the inside living space or conditioned space and the outside environment.

A thermal envelope is a very important key element in order to have a well energized home or a low energy home. The thermal envelope is everything in a house that helps shield the habitable space from the outdoors. Some of the key parts include outer walls, the foundation, roof, doors, windows etc. What purpose or what roles does a thermal envelope have in my home you wonder? Well that is a very good question and one you should have the answer to. A thermal envelope helps prevent any heat transfer from the inside of your home to the outside of it. This is especially important during the winter or in the summer time. In other words a thermal envelope is there to prevent warm air from inside your house produced by heaters to leave your home and cool air from leaving during the hot days.

In order for your home to have the maximum energy efficiency and comfort, this thermal envelope has to be a prime factor to be taken into account before anything else. The effectiveness of your home’s thermal envelope depends on various factors:
1) the insulation in the walls, ceilings, basement etc.
2) moisture and condensation that may affect insulation performance
3) the rate of exchange inside and outside air

It is possible to improve the efficiency of your home’s thermal envelope with a simple step:

Proper Insulation. When you have a properly insulated home your home’s thermal envelope will have the maximum energy efficiency and you will even have lower energy bills, that’s a plus!

There are many insulation options in the market but it is vital to look at each of these options efficiency to insulate properly.  One of the key factors to achieving this will be to look at the R-value, and insulation is all about the R-value. This R-value is simply the material’s resistance to heat traveling through it, the higher the R-value the better because this will guarantee the resistance there is and the more energy efficient the material chosen may be.

There are many insulation options such as fiberglass, cellulose spray foam etc. That is why the R-value of each of these materials is important. The greater the insulation level present in a home the better performance there will in regards to energy and comfort. Once this achieved
your home’s thermal envelope will be in great shape.

So many terms to learn and think of and run through your head, we know! You finally know what convection heat transfer is and you keep reading about other heat transfer and you are probably wondering why it matters. Trust us, it matters to know because when you know what performance you are getting you are satisfied and sure of what you are doing. Especially when making such a huge move in insulating your home.

When electromagnetic waves travel through space, we call it radiation. When electromagnetic waves come in contact with an object, then these waves transfer that heat to the object. Electromagnetic waves travel through empty space and the sun warms the earth through radiation through those electromagnetic waves. This helps us understand what radiant heat transfer is exactly.

This radiative heat transfer does not need the objects to in direct contact with the heat source and this occurs as mentioned above, through empty space. Let’s think of an example, imagine yourself in a room, it is 75°F inside yet the walls and ceiling are at 49°F. How would you feel? Pretty cold inside wouldn’t you agree? Now imagine the opposite scenario; same temperature inside 75°F but now those walls are around 85°F, how do you feel now? Probably really hot in there. As you notices, the starting air temperature was the exact same in both cases: 75°F, yet
the radiative cooling and warming of your body to the walls and ceiling temperature made a major impact on the comfort level you may of felt.

What does this have to do with spray foam insulation you may be wondering? That spray foam insulation is the best option for you, your home and comfort because heat transfer by radiation is blocked and stopped completely with this insulation method thanks to its magnificent cell structure. Although the heat can transfer by radiation across these cells, thanks to the adjoining cell walls within that are pretty much the same temperature, heat transfer by radiation is pretty much cancelled out and does not exist at all. Another great benefit of this insulating method is that the interior sides of walls that are insulated, are almost the same temperature and the ones in the room so that radiant heat loss or gain is small making your home much more comfortable. This definitely makes the investment worthwhile don’t you say?

Convection heat transfer, thermal barrier, conduction heat transfer, thermal envelope. Those are probably just a few of all the terms you have heard or read up to this point while looking into insulating your home with spray foam insulation. Those are quite a few terms to have to learn in a matter of minutes but definitely worth your time. Why? Because knowing the performance of each one of these will allow you to make a good educated choice you will not regret!

So let’s get started and take a look at what one of those many terms refers to: convection heat transfer. What exactly is convection heat transfer? Convection heat transfer will usually be referred to as well to just convection so whenever reading those to terms, know that it is referring to the exact same thing so don’t worry. These terms refer simply to the transfer of heat from one place to another place by the movement of fluids.

To have a more clear idea of what convection is, let’s think of it as the up and down movement of gases and liquids caused by heat transfer. When a gas or liquid gets heated, it warms up, expands and rises because it is less dense. When the opposite thing occurs the results are different. When a gas or liquid cools, it becomes more dense and falls. As the liquid or gas warms and rises or cools and falls, it creates a convection current. As you may remember, we mentioned in the beginning that convection is the primary method through which heat moves through gases and liquids.

Lets think of an example as to how this performs with Spray foam. Within a stud wall cavity, there can be convective loops. What are these convective loops? These occur when the exterior and interior temperatures differ from one another, for example the outside can be cold and the interior warm. What happens? The air within this cavity in contact with the exterior wall can cool causing it to become denser and flow in a downward movement. On the other hand, the air that is in contact with the interior wall will warm up, making is less dense and causing it to rise. This explains the “loops” we mention previously because the air is falling and rising within the wall cavity.

What would occur if we could stop this air movement? Your right: convective heat loss would stop! That is what spray foam insulation does exactly, it eliminates air movement within the insulation.

You are looking into insulating your home and have been reading some information on some of the best and recommend insulation methods for this task. As you may of decided by now, spray foam insulation seems to be the right choice for you and and your home. You keep reading about all the wonderful things it does and all the terminology used and you have no idea what some of these things are or have to do with spray foam insulation. Don’t worry we got you covered.

Let’s talk about one of the many things you have probably read that spray foam insulation does for your home and what is means: conduction heat transfer. Probably familiar with this term right? What exactly does it mean and imply though? Conduction heat transfer is the conduction of heat between substances that are in direct contact with each other. The better that the conductor is, the more rapidly heat will be transferred over.

In order for there to conduction heat transfer from one object to another, they must be in contact as mentioned above, if you were to break this contact, then the conduction will end or stop. Conduction occurs pretty much all the time, for example it happens when pressing your hand on to a window pane or when placing a pot of water on top of an active element such as a stovetop etc. This sort of process occurs at a molecular level when heat energy becomes absorbed by a specific surface and causes those molecules from that surface to move rapidly.

Within that process, they run and bump into each other and cause that transfer of energy. That process can only and will only continue as long as heat is still being added.

When it comes to spray foam insulation, the predominant heat transfer mechanism in it is conduction but because the polymer and gas contained within the cells of this product are both very poor conductors of heat, closed cell spray foam counts with a high R-value and will effectively block heat transfer by conduction. Spray foam is definitely the way to go no looking back!

One of the many questions customers wonder before hiring any sort of service is how much money they will spend, especially when it comes to insulating their home.

Spray foam Insulation Pricing is usually calculated by the volume of a board foot in many areas (1 board foot = 12” x 12” x 1” thick). It is important to know that pricing can vary widely from state to state.

Pricing for the application for this type of insulation is influence by various factors. Lets take a look at some of them.

● Labor required
It is important to keep in mind this type of installation will take allot of labor and man hours. The cost of labor is usually the largest cost during the whole installation process. This sort of job really should be installed by a certified professional in order to do the job correctly, so this is usually installed with skilled certified labor that is a higher dollar per hour than basic labor.

● Area being covered
Another important factor in the pricing of spray foam insulation is the area the customer wants covered. How many square feet will be sprayed? Will it only be a small area? The entire building? How big is the attic or basement? In other words the larger the area the more material used therefore higher the overall price will be, but the cheaper the project will be per board foot.

● Region
What area do you live in? This will also be an important factor as to how much you will need to pay. Prices vary from place to place. Most of these variations in spray foam insulation cost are due to the cost of labor in your area and the price the base material pricing and of course the amount of local demand has an impact as well. As you can see, there is not a specific set price for spray foam insulation, pricing varies due to various factors. What is true though, is that despite what you may spend, it will be worth your every penny.

When it comes to insulating your home, is it a very big decision and quite an investment to make yet a very important thing to do in order to have a well insulated home is to have a well sealed home. You hear of many different home insulation options on the market for example fiberglass, cellulose, spray foam etc. But what insulation method is really the best for your house?

For starters, why does having a well sealed home matter? Well making sure that your home is properly sealed is extremely important because when you have a well sealed home, you stop convection heat transfer and maximize efficiency. Lets explain this further, there are 3 types of heat transfer; Radiation, Conduction & Convection. Of the 3 types of heat transfer Convection can account for up to 70% of heat transfer. Convection heat transfer is basically heat transfer by air movement. Its like a hair dryer, you turn on the switch, the electricity heats up the heating element and a fan blows air over heated element and transfers that hot air to your hair.

That same effect happens in your home in a couple different ways.

1) External Air Transfer; this is when hot or cold air moves from the outside of your home to the inside of your home.
2) Internal Air Transfer; this is the movement of air from the inside of your home to the outside of your home.
3) In-Wall Convection; this is the unnoticed & unthought of heating / cooling bill killer.

This can account for up to 20% of your homes heat transfer. The way this works is the walls of your home heat up in turn heating up the air in the walls. Hot air rises to the top of the wall hitting the top wall plate and transfers the heated air into or out of your home. When this happens it has to pull more air from the bottom of the wall and restarts the whole process over.

It has been proven that spray foam insulation is the only type of insulation that effectively and properly seals the home and stops all 3 types of convection heat transfer.
Bottom line is nobody wants a home that leaks air because all that it does is cost you higher energy bills month by month due to the high energy cycles performed by your cooling and heating systems. The areas where air leaks into and out of a home are often hidden from one’s view. Air leakage can be through holes, gaps, cracks, around window frames, around electrical boxes, pipe penetrations and many other areas. All these air leaks can cause an amazing 30-
50% of energy loss.

Besides the expense of utility bills, when a home is not sealed it allows for excess moisture and contaminants to enter and pollute your in-home environment. Proper sealing will reduce outside noise pollution, allergens entering and will greatly add to your overall home comfort.

Aside from having a safe, clean and very well maintained home, it should also be strong and durable in order to be able to protect its dwellers from multiple environmental elements.
The walls within your home are the main structural component of the building itself. Spray foam insulation strengthens your home and also adds durability to it.

In a wood frame building the total weight of the roof, the shingles, standing rainwater and in many cases, snow during the winter months, can add unnecessary to your homes structure and this causes it to apply downward force on walls causing a comprehensive force. Even winds and gust from thunderstorms can cause your walls to lateral forces and that can cause distortions in the building. That is known as shearing force.

Building codes require your homes walls to be designed in a manner that they are able to withstand these types of forces and loads. If the walls are built to the minimum standard required but still safe, there would be “symptoms” of movement present. What sort of symptoms could these be? They could be creaking and shaking during very high winds. This is where insulation comes in.

With proper insulation, your homes walls will become stronger. Spray foam insulation achieves just that. Something most commonly known insulation methods fail to do. Besides making your walls stronger, spray foam insulation inside your walls reinforce the strength they have making it more sturdy, more durable. With such rigidity, you will see how there will be less wall movement caused by wind and vibration. With your walls being this much stronger, you can be assured that they can support the entirety of your home more efficiently. Knowing that you have the best
insulation material installed will take so many worries off your mind.

Closed cell spray foam insulation inside your stud walls will fully adhere to the exterior sheathing and the studs. What is the result of this? Both get reinforced. Apart from all this, you will have a a building with greater than code required resistance to racking events such as hurricanes or any sort of high wind situation that may come along the way.

Spray foam insulation is not just any sort of insulation, it is the best insulation you can possible have. A good strong and sturdy home is more than anyone can ask for. Make your home the best it can be today.

Pests. How we all hate to hear that our home has pests! Surely you do too! Especially in attic and basement areas where we don’t tend to check all the time and keep an eye on right? It’s that time of year that you finally decided to switch your home insulation but you have no idea what insulation method will help you keep those terrible pests out. The first thing you need to do is research the diffrent spray foam insulation contractors in San Diego before you go forward .

You’ve probably have heard people talking about spray foam insulation and how wonderful it is but you just are not
completely convinced about it. Let us help you make the right choice!
We all know those pests love to find a place to be especially during those nasty cold months because they like to look for warm areas, places they can burrow in and build homes. They create nests and lay eggs everywhere. One of the many areas some insects like to seek are residential homes because of all the wood they are made from.

One other problem with pests in a home is that they create poor indoor quality and health. Many of these insects or bugs etc. can carry diseases and with just a small sting or bite it would be enough for anyone to get sick. Unfortunately children are more prone than adults to these illnesses. This is definitely a serious problem for anyone in that home. In order to achieve avoiding these problems, it is important that as we find the proper insulation method.

When talking about a new insulation method, many people are not to sure what they should do with so many options out there in the market. Spray foam insulation has been rising in the insulation market due to its high performance in many areas compared to other commonly known insulation methods. Within those high performances that spray foam offers is one of your many problems: pests. How exactly does spray foam insulation help keep pests out of your
home?

Many insulation methods lay over the surface for example fiberglass. That sort of insulation just invites those pests in such as a mouse. Spray foam insulation on the other hand, prevents any open areas or spaces for these pests. When spray foam insulation is applied, it is sprayed onto the desired and needed surface as liquid form and it clings completely to that available area filling any nooks and crannies. Once sprayed on, the spray foam begins to expand creating an extremely tight seal, making it nearly impossible for anything from the outside to enter unless its
through your door or any opened windows.

Spray foam insulation will help control and stop any pests from ever getting in your home again. It is definitely worth the investment.

You have been thinking about insulating your attic home and have decided about using spray foam insulation. Have you made the right choice you may wonder? Of course you have! You will see how your effort and choice will pay off. There is one important matter to consider now, what type of attic you have and how spray foam will be applied.

After researching you come to find that the type of attic your home has, is a non-vented attic. How does the spray get applied in this case? When applied, the spray foam will be sprayed on the undersides of the roof between the joists. It will also be necessary to apply it around the rim and also into the soffit areas, on the gable wall ends and this will seal any leakage spots in the entire attic area.

When it is applied in this manner, it will insulate your attic space from the heat that use to enter and hit the hot shingles sheathing and roof. Your attic will now be a conditioned space in your home and when you enter it you will even feel it as comfortable as any other room in your home throughout the entire year, whether it is hot on cold outside.

Deciding to use spray foam in the roofing system of your old or new home, is the best choice you will make. Why? When this material is used to complete this insulation task, you see how significantly it reduces your energy use. Energy that used to get lost through ducts that are located in your attic will also have been eliminated as well as infiltration from the ceiling in many cases. With spray foam insulation, the top of your home will be much more tighter and this will allow no more further infiltration from the outside to the inside and vise verse.

Applying spray foam insulation in your non-vented attic is definitely worth the investment. Besides having a more comfortable area, you will be saving a lot of energy in this form thanks to all the tight sealing this will do for your attic. Energy saving means lower energy bill. Who doesn’t love seeing lower monthly bills month after month? This will save you loads of cash that can be used in something else. Spray foam insulation is indeed the best choice of made for
yourseld and your home.

One of your many concerns that you face as a homeowner is the crawl space of your home and its efficiency. Some people, maybe even you at this point, have had to deal with those terrible oval type vents that penetrate through rectangular holes. That is no fun in any way.

Some people have come to find that when using commonly known insulation methods to take care of their crawl space problems such as fiberglass, the problems are not controlled or solved.
Why? Due to the fact that unfortunately that sort of material and others used for insulation, don’t stop or even control air and/or moisture movement and infiltration. Improper insulation in an area such as the one being discussed, will not prevent the cold/warm air from entering your home’s living space. If your home’s crawl space is not properly or fully sealed from your home itself, the possibilities of contaminated air, mold and even rodents to penetrate your living area.

So what CAN be done to fix this problem? If you have decided its time to upgrade your crawl space insulation or fix any present issues, there is one insulation method that you will be happy to use. What insulation method you may wonder? Its called “spray foam insulation.” This type of insulation is being known more and more by the insulation industry and by people due to all the great things it can achieve unlike the commonly used insulation ways. Spray foam is the only material that can create an incredibly effective thermal barrier from any obstructions.

If you use closed-cell spray foam in your home’s crawl space, it will work as an effective moisture barrier between the ground itself and your home’s subfloor surface. Spray foam also helps prevent air or moisture movement into the walls of your home and up into the attic space.

It also helps circumvent any floor insulation issues due to its great ability to completely fill any voids and open spaces. This includes any areas around wiring and plumbing as well as open webs of floor trusses.

Spray foam by far is a superior type of insulation that can fix more than one problem in your home and overcomes disadvantages that other insulation methods have. Choosing spray foam as your new insulation method in your crawl space will be worth the time and money.

Ice dams. What exactly are these? Ice dams are continuous chunks of ice that start to form along the margins of your roof during the winter and super cold seasons. When these are frozen, they don’t seem to cause much harm or troubles, but what about when the the warmer part of the day comes along during the cold day and these begin to melt? Water melting off the roof begins to pool behind the ice and can seep back up under the shingles of your home. That melted ice will eventually drip through the roof onto the soffits, walls, and your worst nightmare: the ceilings.

We all know how frustrating and can be to have ice dams on our home and maybe you are not too worried about it right now but although winter is not here yet, it will be sooner or later. What better thing to do than prepare yourself and your home before it is too late to start?

First off it is very important that you know how these ice dams form. These occur after a very heavy snowfall when the warm air inside your attic causes your roof to warm and therefore the snow begins to melt. This running melted water then freezes once again once it gets to the colder roof edge, which then forms a mound of ice. The ice there now traps that melted water which from there on seeps back up the shingles and now is dripping through your home ceilings making your ceiling to stain, be wet and potentially rot. Sounds like a lot for something we may
sometimes pay no attention or importance to right?

So what can you do to prevent all this worry some fuss? Stop these ice dams with a cold roof. That’s right, a cold roof. The formation of ice dams and icicles as read above, occurs only when part of your roof warms about 32 degrees F, and this created what is known as a warm attic.

The heat escapes from the ceilings into the home’s attic and warms up the roof and shingles that are located just above it. The outdoor temperature can be freezing but due to that warm section the snow melts. So with a cold roof as we mentioned, after a snowfall, it will have a thick blanket of snow not melted spots.

You can have a cold roof with proper insulation. It is very important and essential for you to have a thick enough insulation level and that is where the R-value is so very important. Although there are many insulation options in the market it is very important that you seek and use the one with the best R-value. Amongst the best known is spray foam insulation. Stop thinking it through so much. Fix the problem today.

You had been wanting to insulate your home for either the first time or replace the old insulation that you already have. You had been looking around and had so many options to choose from and could never decide upon one. You’ve heard so many great things on spray foam insulation versus other insulation methods but still are not 100% fully convinced. Well let us help you reach that total assurance. Let’s look different ways in which spray foam insulation is indeed the best choice in every way especially when it comes to money saving.

Money saving? That’s right. Spray foam insulation helps lower your power bills month by month!

Who doesn’t love saving money? We all do for sure. Let’s take a look at just 5 different ways in which this can be achieved.
1. It helps stop airflow 

The main and principal goal of insulation is to completely prevent any unwanted outside air from entering your home what so ever. At the same time, it keeps the air from your heater or air conditioner inside without escaping (depending the time of year it is in use). Other traditional insulation methods allow for air to pass through them and
therefore disrupt the inside temperature. On the other hand, spray foam acts as a protective air barrier therefore keeping the air that belongs inside and blocking outside air. Once this achieved it stops excess use of these cooling and heating systems meaning less energy consumed.

2. It’s sturdy

Since spray foam is made mainly from polyurethane, this makes the insulation strong and very durable, unlike other tradition insulation that tends to sag over time due to the gravity that eventually pulls it down. That sagging can create unwanted openings that will allow air to pass through. Spray foam on the other hand, due to its sturdy structure, allows it to stay in place to prevent any sagging at all. What other insulation can achieve that? None.

3. It expands and fully covers

As you may know, many traditional insulation that is used has to be cut up in order to fit your home. Unfortunately all this does is fail to reach and cover the nooks and crannies present and instead just creates gaps and openings that allow air to pass through and mess with the temperature of your home. Spray foam insulation though, when applied, it begins to expand and is able to reach and fill each and every open space, nooks and crannies and blocks those open
spaces. This prevents the air from escaping from your home.

4. It’s water resistant

Unlike other insulation, spray foam does not absorb water during a flood or cause leakage. We know this can lead to mold and home damage. Spray foam, thanks to it mixture allows water to pass through rather than accumulating it inside over time. The incredible water resistance of spray foam helps prolong the lifespan of it so that you wont have to be replacing due to water or mold damage. That’s a mega plus.

5. Prevents overuse of heater and air conditioner
Last but not least, due to airflow that spray foam prevents, your heating and cooling system won’t have to work as hard. This means less energy being consumed.

You already know its the right choice. Now just go do it.

Spray foam insulation

Health practitioners consider polyurethane to be a cause of asthma, lung diseases etc. Indoor air can also cause neurological disorders. Precautionary measures have also been suggested so that the product does not harm the occupants of the house. It is recommended by health authorities that people installing the spray foam insulation should wear the proper gear including gloves, face mask and hood.
Unprotected people should be advised to vacate the premises for a period of at least 72 hours until the vapors and dust particles are cleared to provide a safe environment inside the house.

Examination of use of chemicals

Legal authorities have drafted certain procedures in order to evaluate and examine the usage of chemicals to prepare spray foam insulation.

1. 200 such chemicals have been listed which emanate hazardous toxins or can cause environmental damage.

2. The legal authorities need to evaluate various chemical combinations and afterwards draft a list of products which are certified to be used to prepare the spray foam.

3. A product’s alternatives should be examined giving due consideration to the environment and health impact by the product.

4. The alternatives analysis should be reviewed periodically. Proper information should be imparted to the customers. The customers should be apprised on the issues of safety measures, product handling process, use of chemicals and life management requirements.

Spray foam insulation association

Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) was founded in 1987. The organization acts as a technical and educational resource of the industry. It develops helpful tools to convince the construction industry practitioners about the advantages of spray polyurethane foam insulation and specialty insulations. It is an independent trade organization allied with the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Center for Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) as well as the Spray Foam Coalition.

It provides many services to the members; some are listed below:-

a) Certificate courses on the various uses of spray polyurethane foam.

b) Guidelines on the areas of using spray polyurethane foam.

c) Research & Development programs for technical advancement.

d) Advocacies on pertinent issues.

Registered under 501©6 trade association it includes contractors, manufacturers and distributors of polyurethane foam and other related services.

Another organization, The Canadian Urethane Foam Contractors Association Inc. (CUFCA) promotes the application of spray polyurethane foam insulation on a national level. The organization developed a Quality Assurance Program based on ISO 9002 principles which is actively creating awareness about the product.

People should be rest assured that spray foam insulation is the best and the most popular product currently available in the insulation materials industry and you should recommend it to your friends too.

Measurement of R-value:

R-value can be measured based on the direction of the heat transfer i.e. upward or downward. up Rvalue refers to resistance to upward heat transfer (also known as winter R-value) and down R-value refers to resistance to downward heat transfer (also called summer R-value). Natural vented houses have high down values and low up values for the roofs and ceiling during hot, humid weather.

Mathematically it is denoted by the equation R = Difference in temperature (∆T) X Area X Time / Heat Transfer

Two ways in which R-values are stated:

a) System R-value: The insulation value of air spaces and material in accordance with the insulation material at the time of installation during the construction of a building.

b) Product R –value: The R-value of the individual product.

Role of Surface Temperature

R-values of an insulation material are measured in a laboratory. The lab tests are required to analyze the properties of the material’s level of resistance to heat transfer. The difference in surface temperature depends on the mode of heat transfer. In the absence of convection/radiation, the insulation material’s surface temperature should be proportionate to the air temperature. Light, metallic and reflective surfaces which are exposed to radiation help in decreasing the temperature compared to dark, nonmetallic surfaces. It is an important point to consider while construction of buildings as heat transfer occurs in different proportions. In hot and humid season, solar radiation acts as a major source of heat transfer as a result the radiative heat transfer creates warm surfaces. During winters and cooler times, heat transfer takes place by conduction and convection. At low temperatures, fibrous insulation and cellulose insulation play a major part in the construction of buildings.

Spray foam insulation R – Value

R-value is the insulation material’s ability to reduce the rate of heat transfer. Heat loss in an uninsulated aerated space occurs due to changes in the density of air in accordance with the temperature.

R-value depends on the ability of a solid material to resist conductive heat transfer. In porous materials, R-value determines the material’s ability to resist heat transfer caused by radiation and convection.

Insulation thus reduces this process of natural convection and helps in heat transfer conduction. Porous insulations achieve this in a great manner along with minor transfer of radiation.
The material having higher R-value will act as an effective insulation product. Spray foam having R-value of 1.8 – 2 pounds is considered to be the best insulation for homes and other buildings.

Spray foam insulation blocks all the forms of heat transfer – conduction, radiation and convection.

Do your allergies worsen during rainy season? If yes, then you are possibly suffering from mold allergies that can hamper your daily comfortable life. The mold spores enter your body through the nasal tract and cause an allergic reaction; thereby causing respiratory allergies or asthma. Mold occurs in moisture whether indoors or outdoors. The problem increases when the mold spores, constantly travelling in the air, come in contact with a wet surface in your house due to a leakage,  moist basement, damp portions near the carpet which do not catch our attention.

Mold allergies are not seasonal and those suffering from mold allergies can experience it in the rain prone area. The main symptoms of mold allergies are extensive coughing, sneezing profusely, itching in the eyes, congestion and difficulty in breathing. Even children can fall a prey to mold allergies if
their school buildings are not constructed properly. Mold allergies can also give rise to Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis; prominent among farmers who continuously engage themselves with moldy crop materials.

Allergies due to bad air

Nowadays a very pertinent question is rankling on the minds of individuals, health practitioners and environmentalists – “Do we inhale good quality air?”People who suffer from air-borne allergies prefer to stay indoors since the air outside contains pollen and spores. But are we satisfied that the indoor air quality is not harmful? No, because dust mites, pests and animal dander play a major part in polluting the indoor air. 80% of the houses in the US are affected by dust mites, 60% of them are affected by animal dander. Pests are found in the houses located in the inner cities.

Allergens travel through the air and settle down on the parts of the furniture, surfaces of the floors  and walls. Pollen, dust mites, pest debris contain allergens of larger size as a result they settle quickly and pollute the air. The main sources of allergens in the indoor air are pets, stuffed toys, carpets, non-encased bed linen (mattresses and pillows) and overstuffed furniture.

Controlling Indoor Allergy

1. Surfaces around the home should be left uncluttered. Bedroom floors should be kept bare. Rugs and carpets should be washed regularly to keep away dust mites.

2. People affected by allergies should not keep furry pets and feathered birds in the house.

3. Usage of air conditioners in warm weather prevents dust mites due to reduction in the levels of humidity inside the house. Filters of the window units should be changed periodically.

4. Garbage should be covered in order to avoid pests. Boric acid and traps should be used rather than spraying chemicals to keep away rats, cockroaches and other pests.

Spray Foam Insulation – A better alternative

The average American citizen spends his time indoors mostly. This calls for the need of good quality indoor air. Many people develop health issues and allergies due to moisture, mold and harmful gases. Spray foam insulation can miraculously prevent allergens enter your home such as pollen, moisture, carbon monoxide etc. This kind of insulation will be effective only if it is installed in the proper manner. Spray foam acts as an air barrier as well as a moisture barrier.

Closed cell spray foam prevents water vapor from entering the room. As a result, moisture cannot escape through the walls, attic or any other space in your room. It has an ability to retard water; thus making it a superior insulator for allergies. It helps in preventing asthma and other respiratory tract diseases too.

Methods of Ventilation

Ventilation methods can be classified into mechanical, natural and hybrid. Mechanical ventilation is used to control the quality of indoor air. Odor, excessive humidity and other contaminants can be replaced with fresh outside air. Energy requirement increases during humid climates in order to remove the excess moisture. Kitchens and bathrooms consist of exhaust fans to control humidity and odor.

Kitchen ventilation helps in resolving problems rising from smoke and grease. Ceiling fans reduce the temperature arising due to perspiration of the people inside the room.

Natural ventilation is achieved by open vents/windows in the building. The warm air of the building flows out of the vents and the cooler air is brought inside the building through the openings in the building. In warm months, thermal comfort is created by natural ventilation through open spaces.

Hybrid /Mixed mode of Ventilation is a combination of natural and mechanical form of ventilation. The mechanical and natural components of ventilation may be used separately or together at different hours
of the day. The natural ventilation component may not provide adequate ventilation during extreme weather conditions. Then the mechanical component is utilized to meet the desirable internal temperature and to make the room a comfortable place to live.

Ventilation Rate:

The rate of ventilation is denoted by the volume of air flowing outside that is brought inside the building. The rate is measured in the units of cubic feet per minute (CFM) or liters per second (L/s).

Spray foam insulation and Ventilation

Spray foam insulation is a popular measure over several years as it is affordable and an effective energy saving solution on a long – term basis. The insulation creates an envelope around the building and restricts the passage of air. It diminishes the natural ventilation of air through the building. Insulated
homes without ventilation become humid.

Natural ventilation reduces the effects of pollutants at home. The absence of natural ventilation gives rise to dangerous levels of dust, moisture, allergens and other pollutants which result in health problems. The natural ventilation replenishes the level of oxygen in the room and thus helps in maintaining a good quality of indoor air.

Therefore an important feature of a spray foam house is the provision of mechanical fresh air ventilation.

The best ways to provide mechanical fresh air ventilation are listed below:

a) Exhaust Ventilation system: These systems pull out the indoor stale air and create an air leakage the structures. The electrical energy cost is lowest and it can be used with any heating system.
b) Balanced Ventilation systems comprise of one fan too brings air inside the home and another to take out the stale indoor air. They are generally classified into Energy Recovery Ventilators and Heat Recovery Ventilators.

c) Supply ventilation Systems push outside air into the home and provide air to exit from kitchen hoods and bathroom fans. It comprises of 2 components – controlled mechanical damper and whole house ventilating dehumidifier.

For more info go here http://www.synergyinsulation.com/san-diego/

a) At low temperatures, the water vapor condenses on the surface of the pipe and the moisture leads to corrosion. Pipe insulation avoids condensation at the surface.

b) Local -water supply pipes located in unheated areas, where the  temperature dips below the freezing point face the problem of freezing of the standing water. As a result, the pipe expands causing a failure in the pipe system. Pipe insulation can increase the time required by the water to freeze, hence the risk of water freezing in the pipes is reduced.

c) The rate of heat transfer from a pipe is related to the difference between the pipe and the surrounding air temperature. Application of insulation in pipes will reduce the rate of heat transfer thereby causing less damage.

d) Extreme temperatures may result in physical accidents due to failure in the pipework system. Pipe insulation will facilitate in synchronizing the surface temperatures along with the air
temperature.

e) Noise pollution also results in the failure of a pipework system. Proper insulation will prevent the transfer of noise and thus lessen the damage.

Materials used for pipe insulation:

1. Mineral wools: Rock wools and slag wools are inorganic strands of mineral fiber bound together by organic binders. These operate at high temperatures and are usually used for industrial pipework.

2. Glass wool is a good insulation material. This fibrous material is effective in high temperatures…

3. Rigid Foams: The commonly used method of pipe insulation is using rigid Phenolic foam. It possesses very low values of thermal conductivity.

4. Elastomeric foams: These are flexible in nature. They are mainly used for insulating pipework in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. These foams are also applied on water-heating systems.

5. Polyethylene: A flexible type of plastic foam insulation is a popular method to avoid freezing of pipes meant for domestic water supply.

6. Silica Aerogel possesses low thermal conductivity; its usage is limited nowadays as Aerogel pipes are out of circulation.

Mathematical Expressions:

The heat transferred through pipe insulation is calculated by the following formula:

R-value of each layer of pipe insulation must be calculated in order to find the amount of heat flow. The change in the R-value of pipe insulation is determined by three factors – thickness of the insulation material, thermal conductivity and average temperature of the material.

Spray foam insulation around pipes

Due to chilly winters, increase in heavy frosty weathers and higher costs incurred on home heating; insulation is considered a cost-effective method. Lack of insulation gives rise to mold, dust and pests. Effective insulation can help you cut down the costs incurred on energy consumption.

Spray foam pipe insulation is an expensive but reliable method. It should be installed by a certified professional only. It is used to insulate the spaces between a single pipe and the exterior wall.

Purpose of insulating an attic

Since the attic is the topmost floor of a house, it is essential to insulate it. In hot and sultry climate the moisture dampens the room temperature as a result it becomes uncomfortable to live inside the house.

In freezing temperatures during even the central-heating process will not be effective if the attic and other open spaces are not well-insulated. So it will act as a heater and create warmth in winters whereas it will act as a cooler and protect inhabitants of the house from the damp, moist and humid
climate in summers. Attic insulation provides a thermal envelope which helps in maintaining a comfortable livable temperature all year around. The insulation need of a home in a cooler region is different from that in a warmer region.

Spray foam insulation attic

85% of the homes are insulated by fiberglass. But, nowadays Spray Foam Insulation is gaining popularity over the traditional method of fiberglass insulation. Spray foam is a preferable option as it takes the exact shape of the open spaces and creates an air-tight seal around the vent. It also covers uneven spacing like floor joists, pipes, ducts and wires. It is a great option because the foam expands rapidly in order to take the shape of the leaks, cracks, nooks and gaps. There are two ways of insulating your
home’s attic space by utilizing Spray foam Insulation. Spray foam insulation will protect your attic from weather damages and other problems caused by moisture.

Spray Foam Insulation for vented and non-vented attics

For vented attics, this method is considered to be very useful for the architects/builders. By this method, spray foam is used in place of traditional fiberglass batts i.e. the spaces of floor joists. The remaining area of the attic is not insulated and vented through the ridges. This system, very commonly used, by the engineers in the US may not be very effective.

For non- vented spaces, it is considered to the most useful and effective method in the industry. The foam is sprayed under the roof around the rim, between the joists, on the wall ends and in the soffit areas. A vented –attic generally records a temperature of 130 degrees in summer, which gives rise to
increase in the use of air-conditioners and thereby generating moisture.

Application of spray-foam under the roof insulates the area from extreme heat thereby cooling the atmosphere. The attic becomes as comfortable as another room. In this case, the surface temperature is lowered up to the level of 40F.

The benefits of adopting spray foam insulation for the attic are as follows:
1. Reduction in leakage and heat transfer from the ducts.
2. Air trapping is easier under the roof compared to the ceiling.
3. Dust, mold, and pests will be hindered entrance to the rest of the house.
4. Lower energy costs.

In order to derive a cost estimate, the following factors need to be considered:
a) Dimensions of the area in square foot.
b) Thickness of foam required
c) Number of kits to be applied
d) Location of the building
e) Estimate allowance

Spray foam insulation cost estimate Spray foam is regarded as an excellent alternative to fiberglass because it has humidity, strength, high Rvalue, shape and sealing property. Spray foam insulation protects your home from extreme weather conditions, dust; mold etc. The cost estimate of spray foam insulation is based on the amount of the volume or thickness of the insulation to be used. The thickness is referred by the term ‘Board Foot’. A board foot is 12 inches wide, 12 inches long and 1 inch thick. Cost estimation also considers the factors of foam type, foam thickness and R-value. The difference in the type of foam determines the density which in turn affects the R – value. E.g. It is assumed that a product with lighter density will come under the price range $0.44 -$0.65 per board foot. Closed cell spray foam insulation will  approximately fall in the price range $0.70 – $1 per board foot. Open- cell spray foam insulation is the cheapest method because the bubbles formed are tiny and they do not form an air-tight seal. With the expansion of the foam, the bubbles break into small pockets of air which makes the process of heat transfer slower.

Spray Foam Insulation Spray Foam Area

The main areas of application of spray foam insulation are floors, attics, crawlspaces, ceilings, garages 2X4 walls, 2X6 walls etc.

Spray foam insulation kits

Foam provides an air seal and acts as a great sound barrier. It does not attract pests and helps in keeping away insects. Low pressure polyurethane spray foam insulation kits act as a perfect insulation, air seal and sound barrier. Spray foam insulation is an output of a combination of various chemicals that are heated and sprayed by a machine with the help of a hose. The chemicals amalgamate and form a thick paint-like form which sticks to anything touched like wires, pipes, ducts etc. Just a span of few seconds causes the form to trap the gas in tiny bubbles. As the foam increases, an even layer is created which results in an air tight seal formation over the gap. Spray foam insulation kits are available in different sizes. The components of a spray foam insulation kit include foam, hoses and spray gun. Tiger Foam is a Canada –based distributor of eco-friendly spray foam insulation kits. E-commerce has
facilitated the customers to purchase spray foam insulation kits at reasonable rates.
www.homedepot.com is an online retailer of spray foam insulation kits which offers these products with an additional facility of home delivery.

Spray foam contractors apply high –pressure rigs that facilitate distribution of chemicals throughout the house and the occupants have to vacate the house for a period of 72 hours. Some contractors even use low- pressure tools which require the professional or an individual to wear a respirator while spraying
and the material settles within an hour.

A Do-It Yourself Guide

Although, a certified profession should carry out the procedure of installing spray foam insulation, it is  not very difficult to apply the foam yourself. You need to take precautionary measures too.

Step 1: Study the instructions given in the kit thoroughly.
Step 2: One should wear a disposable face mask, a pair of disposable gloves and a hood. Before applying on the vent or open spaces one should practice spraying the foam evenly as it expands highly. A rough area of 2 inches is sufficient to seal the cavities.
Step 3: There should not be any interruption after the beginning of the procedure. An interval of more
than seconds will create a block in the nozzle.

During the summer, without insulation, the walls and roof would absorb the majority of the solar heat and cause a greenhouse effect inside the building. The reverse is true during cold winter months; the heat generated inside the house is trapped by the insulation. Good insulation provides a measure of comfort. It will trap the heat passing through the walls and roof, generating a moderate temperature by using less amount of energy to cool the building.
Indoor temperatures during the summer will be cooler and the winter nights will be warmer. Insulation can reduce utility bills as much as 40%.

Building insulation materials are installed during construction in order to reduce heat transfer. Spray Foam Insulation has demonstrated to be a good substitute for the traditional building insulation products, such as fiberglass. This product contains two components: isocyanate and polyol resin. When sprayed on concrete slabs, in wall cavities and roof tiles, this product forms
a layer of foam creating the insulating barrier.

Benefits of Spray Foam Insulation

Some additional benefits of Spray Foam Insulation include:
a. Securing the position of a loose pull knob on a hollow door
b. Reducing the sound of running water in pipes
c. Keeping away pests
d. Filling cavities in bathroom floors

Spray foam insulation cost

So what does Insulation in San Diego Cost Fiberglass typically costs approximately $0.40 per square foot whereas the cost of closed-cell
spray foam insulation ranges between $0.90 and $1.50 per board foot.
One of the biggest concerns for contractors and builders is the cost of insulation of a project.

There are several variables that should be considered in the calculation in order to arrive at an accurate final cost. These items would include quantity or material needed, type of insulation, workforce and labor and the square footage.

1. Quantity – refers to the total amount of spray foam insulation material required for a project. Open-cell spray foam is a good solution for projects that are not exposed to liquids or moisture.

2. Type – refers to the type of spray foam to be used in the construction project. There are two categories of spray foam insulation – open cell and closed cell.

Open cell spray foam is a great air barrier and cheaper since it uses less chemicals. It is used in the interior walls in order to reduce sound. Due to an open cell structure the insulation acts as a sponge. Closed cell spray
foam is dense in character and has a compact cell structure. This type of foam is typically used in roofs as well as outdoor projects since it behaves as a vapor barrier. This product is more costly.

3. Area – refers to the total area measured in square feet where spray foam insulation will be applied. Depending on the type of construction, whether it is new construction or an addition to an existing building project, a larger area will require a higher initial investment; an architect should keep in mind the return on investment before finalizing the cost.

4. Labor – Certified professional architects are required to sanction the requirements and authorize the use of spray foam in order to achieve a successful construction project. save big on energy bills

There are many home insulation methods out there some more popular than others. Sometimes we are so used to the common things that we don’t take the time to sit down and decide what may be best for our home. Fiberglass insulation is among one of the most common forms for home insulation, it is very cheap compared to spray foam insulation and can at times even be installed by homeowners if desired. Spray foam insulation is not as frequently used, a little more spendy and requires professional installation. Just looking at those small factors, we would automatically feel inclined to go for fiberglass but lets take a closer look at the JOB each one of this accomplish.
Spray Foam Insulation

• Higher R- Value (approx. up t0 7 per inch)
• You can save 30% or more on energy bills
• Enviromental Friendly
• Prevents air leaks
• Seals hard to get areas
• Lifetime: 80+ years
• Allergen-free

Fiberglass Insulation

• Lower R- Value ( approx. 2.9-3.8 per inch)
• Not very pocket friendly, higher energy bills
• Causes air pollution due to fiberglass fabrication
• Causes air to leak
• Can’t cover small areas, exposing home to air leak
• Lifetime: 10-25 if kept dry
• Mildew and mold forms with time

Other Benefits

These are only SOME of the many benefits you get. Many of you have children at home and proper insulation can play a major role in the health of them. It has been proven by many that other typical insulation methods, such as fiberglass, cause things as mold and mildew etc to form. Spray foam PREVENTS these from forming which significantly improves air quality within your home. This reduces allergy and asthma attacks, which we know or have seen is no fun. Also as you noticed about, the lifetime of fiberglass is nearly ¼ of the lifetime spray foam has, and that is if kept dry. Meaning that fiberglass may not be such a great option especially in rainy seasons. Spray foam on the other hand it perfect because it does not become damaged with water.

Investing into spray foam insulation may seem costly compared to fiberglass, but honestly it will far better with time. Your money will be worth the investment and your home will be a much better place to be in. Make a wise choice not only for your home but for your family. It will be something you won’t regret.

There are many options to pick from when it comes to home insulation, for instance spray foam or cellulose, At times, you might not even know what may be best. Sometimes, we tend to go for what may seem to be cheapest for our pocket at the moment, because lets face it, we all like
to economize! But honestly, it’s always best to sit and evaluate our options. Let’s take a look at some reasons why spray foam is the best choice for you, your home and family.

Spray Foam Insulation

• Better Insulation
• Reaches small areas
• Prevents mold formation
• NO air leaks
• Saves Energy
• Lower bills ( up to 30% or more on savings)
• High R- Value up to 7 per inch
• Lifetime: 80+ years

Cellulose Insulation

• Less insulation
• Air leaks
• Absorbs moisture, causing mold formation
• High energy waste
• Higher bill costs
• Low R- Value tops 3.8 per inch
• Lifetime: Up to 30 years

Just looking at these few things, we see why it is best to go for spray foam insulation. In the long run, it is the best option. Why settle for spending a little bit but having to deal with negative results in the future? Unlike cellulose, spray foam is also better because as seen above, you get better insulation throughout your home when applied. Spray foam is applied in a liquid form which allows for it to enter small areas that cellulose does not reach, filling in all those tiny crevices on your ceiling. When applied it expands. You can cover all your walls or ceilings in a more efficient and faster manner.

Important reason for choosing Spray Foam Installation

Another important reason on why you should pick spray foam rather is because it does not shrink in size or change its shape when it has been set which is great, unlike cellulose, its power for insulation decreases when the space is compressed causing the power to insulate to decrease with time due to the material settling beneath its own weight. The simple fact of having a better insulating home when using spray foam means that you are spending less on those electric bills you hate to see during the cold season or during those hot days!

Whatever method it is that you decide to choose, it all really comes down to one very small and simple factor: insulation is important when creating a cozy and perfect home. Make the best choice!

Is it really necessary to have a properly sealed home you may ask? Why does it matter? The answer is simple: YES, YES, YES! A properly sealed home is imperative to having a well conditioned atmosphere and not just that but when your home is properly sealed, you save a lot of energy and most importantly you save money. Who doesn’t like to save some cash on bills? Everyone does. The U.S EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimated that homeowners can typically save 20% of their cooling and heating costs by just having a properly sealed home. So when your home leaks air its leaking money as well.

Can you imagine leaving one of your home windows open year round? Can you imagine the negative effect this could have in your home comfort? Your health? Your pocket? It’s the same with a non-sealed home. A leaky house doesn’t just cause high energy bills month after month, year after year, it also allows excess and unwanted moisture and other contaminants to enter your home. This is something that can affect young ones or even adults who suffer and struggle with allergies year round or have asthma problems. The places where air leaks in a house are usually hidden from view, this usually occurs in attic hatches, wiring holes, recessed lighting, furnace flues etc.

Importance of air sealing

Experts say the air sealing a home increases your comfort by reducing the draft within a home and by reducing the cycle time that your heating and cooling systems are going to be running. The U.S department of energy says that up to 40% of the average household energy bill is accounted for by air leakage. That means that throughout the year you are wasting hundreds maybe up to thousands of dollars for air that goes straight outside! For example, during the cold winter and rainy months, air comes in from all those non sealed areas and this means you to have to turn up the heater to make up the difference then it goes straight outside again. This is the same during the hot months. By air sealing the home you are in, you will reduce the amount of humidity that enters, this is a huge factor in the comfort level of your home. Another benefit of proper sealing is that this can contribute to protecting structural elements from becoming damaged, especially in high humidity areas where the outside moisture can cause rotting.

Spray foam insulation is the ONLY form of insulation that guarantees all these troubles from happening. Spray foam insulation helps seal your home adequately and prevents unwanted air leakage. When working on your home, you want the best for your bucks, and with spray foam insulation, we guarantee that! As we have seen, Reducing the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home by sealing it, is a cost-effective way to cut heating and cooling costs, improve health, durability, increase everyone’s comfort and create a healthy and indoor environment for all.

You have probably taken a look around on different insulation methods and have decided to use Spray Foam Insulation for your home. Now that you’ve decided to use this, you are stuck with two options: open-cell or closed-cell. To help you decide which is best for your home, lets dig a little bit deeper into each one and its performance. From there, you can decide which type will go hand by hand with your project, need and desire.

For starters, lets take a look at the difference between the two. We will start off with closed-cell foam insulation. This type of method is the more common and denser of the two, it has a higher R-value compared to most types of foams and it features a much better insulation due to its high resistance. Closed-cell is more resistant to any water penetration or degradation, including any type of moisture build-up. Moisture build-up can eventually attract bacterial growth and not just that but it can promote mold which can cause for it to eat the wood in your home away and
Closed-cell foam is a bit more expensive due to its high performance.

Open-cell spray foam insulation is on the more pocket-friendly side, a lot more economical compared to closed-cell. Where should open cell be used? The installation of this method is very similar to that of closed-cell but its effects are different. As soon as it is applied, open-cell foam expands allowing it to be installed in very hard to reach areas and covering them almost immediately. This includes hard to reach nooks and crannies and any wall and ceiling cavities that tend be be difficult to seal with closed cell foam. Its R-value is lower compared to closed cell but it is much denser which allows it to provide very good insulation!

Comparison

Both of these are air barriers but open cell spray foam will absorb and release moisture vapor more freely compared to closed cell foam, which is a good thing because open-cell foam is quite compatible with any sort of wood construction, so it there is wood in your home its a better choice for insulation! If used in your home, open cell spray foam will provide more moisture permeable surface areas for any excess moisture to be absorbed. Open cell foam acts as a moisture buffer as well, helping maintain a much more consistent moisture level within the building which is a very good thing for your health! If you live near a creek or any flood prone areas, avoid using open-cell, instead use open cell spray foam in areas that are more dry to avoid excess water absorption.

Closed cell foam is commonly referred to as “vapor semi-impermeable” and open-cell is referred to as “vapor semi-permeable.” This is good to know for several reasons, one it will help you determine which is best for your home and two it will help you see which is more suitable as well.

As we know, moisture moves from areas with high pressure to those of low pressure, in other words from warm to cold areas and warm air also hold in more moisture than cold air. Now, depending on the area of state you live in according to temperature you can decide if open cell is best for your home. Don’t get carried away with what you hear, instead make sure to make a well educated decision and get informed.

By now you’ve probably realized and decided after debating for a while that spray foam insulation is the best type of insulation for your home and you are correct! You know there are two types of methods; open or closed cell foam. Now the tricky part is knowing when to use closed-cell or open-cell foam in your home. Well let’s now make it harder than it should be, it is quite simple. First off, closed cell foam, as its name implies, are tiny foam cells that are closed and packed together, these are filled with gas that allow the foam to rise and expand and therefore allowing it to be a great insulator. Open-cell foam on the other hand, are tiny foam cells that are not completely closed, but rather opened. These are broken and allow the air that passes through to fill all of the “open” space inside this material making this form of foam a bit weaker or softer in texture than closed-cell foam. Open-cell SPF (spray foam) has an R-value around 3.5 per inch and typically uses water as the blowing agent. Closed-cell SPF has an Rvalue of around 6.0 per inch.

As you probably are able to tell, the advantages of closed-cell foam vs. open-cell foam include various things, such as its strength, higher R-value and its much greater resistance to the leakage of air or water vapor. Both of these types of foam insulation methods are commonly used in many or most building applications and the choice for which you should choose to use can vary and depend on many factors. Depending on the application area, only one type of foam would be appropriate to use.

Closed-Cell Spray Foam Insulation Method

Lets focus on when to use closed-cell spray foam, this insulation method can be used anywhere and is especially effective in attics and the rim joist cavities of your basement where the floorboards rest on the foundation. Closed-cell foam can be used in below grade or in flotation applications where water could be present because it rejects bulk water, something open-cell does not achieve. This foaming method would also be a good choice where small framing sizes need the greatest R-value per inch possible and it would be used for roofing applications as well. In other words, closed-cell SF is suitable for interior and exterior applications.

You may of realized that during the cold months and the hot summer days, that your energy bills go up and this could be do to a poor insulated home. How is that possible? For example, during a cold day your home feels like it needs a little bit of heating and you turn up the heater but if your home is not well insulated, all that warm air escapes and cold air enters making your heater run for a longer time. If this problem was to be resolved, imagine all the energy your be saving! The closed-cell system is a great air barrier for your home eliminating all sorts of air infiltration and optimizing your energy values. It is known that up to 40% of energy can be lost in a home due to air leakage. If this is the case in your home, closed-cell foam would be a great choice due to its high R-value it will insure maximum insulation and diminish air leakage making your monthly bills less expensive.

When it comes to insulating your home, one of the many questions people ask themselves is how much money will they be investing. Indeed it is something all should be aware of especially when investing in such an important project. To start of, lets take a look at some of the factors involved when installing spray foam as your new insulation.

One of the things that usually takes up the largest cost is the man hours and labor performed. This is important though because you want to have the best quality performance. One other thing that affects the amount of money invested is the region that you live in. This plays a very important factor because depending on the area that you reside in, that is how much you’ll need to pay. Why does that matter? Well in some areas and from state the state the pricing of material varies. Typically the pricing for spray foam insulation is usually calculated by the volume of a board foot (1 board foot = 12” x 12” x 1” thick) but as mentioned this can vary from one area to another.

Other Installation Cost

What other costs are involved in the installation of spray foam? One other factor that can vary the cost of the process is the area that you would like to have covered. For example when purchasing a car, there may be very similar models, but the pricing in these will vary greatly depending on the year model, the things included etc. Something similar happens when insulating your home. One person may only want a small area insulated while another may need a larger section covered. Obviously it will not be the same pricing, in other words, the larger the are the more material there will be used therefore the overall pricing will be higher. Also depending on the time of year you decide to have this job done, the pricing on labor can vary and this is due to the different obstacles weather can bring upon installment. One other important cost you should be aware of, is that depending on the type of spray foam you choose to install the price will vary as well. There are two types of spray foams in San Diego; open-cell and closed-cell. Closed-cell foam has tiny cells that as the name implies, are closed and packed together. They are filled with gas and this allows the foam to rise and expand. Open-cell foam on the other hand, are not completely closed, instead they are a bit opened and broken which allows the air that passes through to fill all of the “open” space inside this material making it a bit weaker or softer in texture. Open-cell SPF has an R-value around 3.5 per inch and typically uses water as the blowing agent. Closed-cell SPF has an R-value of around 6.0 per inch.

As you can tell these two types of foam vary in quality and characteristics and due to this the cost varies are well. Closed cell is more expensive than open cell but also its benefits are greater. In order to know how much you will be be investing, you need to know what method suits you more and your home. Despite the type of foam you choose to use, whether its open cell or closed cell, know that your home is in the best hands. Spray foam insulation is the best choice for your home and your pocket. For more information please go to our San Diego Synergy Insulation

When looking into picking an insulation method, spray foam insulation is the best of all. You will see this once you compare the difference in Standard R-Rating and Effective R-Rating of each product type.

First things first. What is Standard R-Rating and Effective R-Rating you may wonder? The Standard R-Rating or Standardised R-Value was a system of measuring insulations effectiveness that was started back in the 1930s. It is a value that is mostly given to insulating material and measures the materials ability to restrict conduction heat transfer. In other words, the higher the Standard R-Value the greater the insulating power will be against Conduction heat transfer. Effective R-Value is a modern way of measuring a materials real ability to restrict heat transfer. Effective R-Value uses a stricter model than the Standard R-Value measurement model.

This is because it takes into consideration;

1) Conduction heat transfer

2) Radiation heat transfer

3) Convection heat transfer.

Basically the Effective R-Value shows how a insulation really performs in “Real World” conditions. Modern science has proven that about 30% of a home’s heat transfer comes through Conduction heat transfer. So that means 70% of heat transfer is not measured by the Standard R-Value rating model.

Standard Insulation Methods

Let’s go ahead and take a look on some of the R-values for two of the most commonly known standard insulation methods out there then we will compare the two with spray foam insulation. Lets start with fiberglass, as you may already know, fiberglass insulation is made up from tiny glass fibers that become arranged into a texture that is very similar to wool and it comes in batts or in rolls. Almost 85% of Americans have this sort of insulation in their home because it is the most common and the oldest technology on the market, but is it really the best option? On
average fiberglass has a Standard R-value as high as 3.8 per inch of thickness and an Effective R-Value of about 1.4 per inch of thickness. This is not good news for Fiberglass.. Read below to learn more about Effective and Standard R-Values.

Now let’s look at another standard insulating method: Cellulose. Cellulose is made of about 80% post-consumer recycled newsprint, in other words its made of paper. Generally from anything you recycle, newspaper, office paper, cardboard etc. The fiber that cellulose is made up of is treated chemically to break it down and help it be fire resistant. On average cellulose has an Standard R-value as high as 3.5 per inch and an Effective R-Value of about 3.5 per inch. So in reality Cellulose has about double the insulating power as Fiberglass.

Spray Foam Insulation

Finally lets look at spray foam insulation. Spray foam insulation comes in a fluid form that is composed of polyurethane resin and a catalyst. When this is applied, it is done with a spray gun making the application process extra fast and accurate. When applied, it forms a foam that rapidly begins to expand and solidifies into place and is great because it reaches hard to get areas that other insulation methods fail to do. Thanks to the great coverage and no air leaks, you will save energy and reduce your electric bills.

On average Open Cell Spray Foam Insulation has a Standard R-value of about 3.8 per a inch of thickness but an amazing Effective R-Value of about 7.5 per inch of thickness. This makes it about 4 times more effective or powerful than fiberglass insulation. Close Cell Spray Foam Insulation is the winner of all insulations on the market. This amazing super insulation has a Standard R-Value of about 7.0 per inch of thickness, but an amazing Effective R-Value of about 15 per inch of thickness. That makes it about 8 times more effective per inch than fiberglass insulation. Not only that it also acts like a vapor barrier and a air barrier.

So now that you see the facts you can make a wise and educated decision on what type of insulation you want to install in your home.

After looking around for a while and comparing the different types of insulation methods out there, maybe by now you have rightly decided spray foam insulation is by far the best. The benefits it offers are great and the savings you get are very worth the effort and upfront cost. Some of the benefits are the great insulating factor and air sealing, especially in those hard to reach areas that can cause air leaks, you save up to 30% or more on utility bills and best of all you get a superiorly comfortable home.

Two Types of Spray Foam

There are two main types of spray foams, they are known as Open Cell and the other one as Closed Cell. What is the difference you may wonder? These two types of spray foam are made from pretty much the same base products, but mainly differ in their density. If you have a higher density, it becomes heavier, stronger and offers a better insulating factor. Both of these, open and close cell insulation, are proven to be effective but they each have their own unique qualities. Lets take a look at each one of these.

Open Cell Spray Foam

First, we will look at Open Cell Spray Foam. Open cell foam is pretty soft, a little bit like a cushion. The cell walls of this material are slightly broken and air will be able fill all the spaces. When open cell foam is applied, it will expand rapidly to about 100 times its original applied thickness. This allows it to reach all those nooks and crannies and areas that are hard to reach, this can include ceilings, walls, joist ends and other air infiltration prone areas. Thanks to its fast expansion and coverage, it will seal the area and therefore allow proper insulation. Open spray foam does not provide water resistance and its low strength provides much less support to the walls. Open cell foam is usually limited to interior use. Its Standard R-value is about 3.8 per a inch of thickness, but its Effective R-Value is about 7.2 per inch of thickness. The biggest
benefit of open cell vs closed cell is the fact that it is allot easier to work with and it is allot cheaper to apply. Usually Open cell can be up to 60% cheaper than closed cell. Due to the fact that open cell spray foam is not a vapor barrier it is best used in low humidity parts of the
country or with home that has a separate vapor barrier installed.

Closed Cell Spray Foam

Closed Cell Spray Foam is strong enough to walk on without to much distortion. In closed cell foam, the cells (or bubbles) are not broken this makes it much stronger and rigid because the bubbles in this material are so strong that they can take a lot of pressure. These cells (or bubbles) are full of a special type non-toxic gas that makes this insulation have the highest insulation value possible. Its Standard R-value is usually around 7 per a inch of thickness and its Effective R-Value is about 14 per inch of thickness. Closed cell foam has a much higher density than open cell foam which provides superior insulation & sealing of both vapor and air. This added vapor barrier function is highly valuable especially in high humidity areas due to the fact that it can function as a highly effective primary vapor barrier, this in-turn can help eliminate mold growth in your home. Also unlike open cell, closed cell foam can be used externally to insulate outside structures. Another interesting fact about closed cell spray foam is some studies have shown that when applied on structures it can add up to 30% strength due to its rigidity and stickiness. It truly is an amazing product.

As you can see they are similar but differ a little as well. Closed cell foam has a lot more advantages for example its strength, its higher R-value, and its high resistance to vapor infiltration. Some of its disadvantages is its higher cost since it is more dense and requires more material usage. Both of these are commonly used and the choice on which you decide to use will depend on the conditions of each homes geographic location, surrounding environment and individual needs. When considering what insulation type to use it is best to consult a professional to review your project’s needs.

Thermal barrier. A requirement for any home. What is it? What job does it do? Is it really necessary? All these are some of the questions that may run through your mind. But continue reading to find the answer to your questions. To start of, a lets take a look at what a thermal barrier is, also commonly referred to as well as heat or fire barriers. A thermal barrier, is a sort of material or type of coating that typically is used and applied over what is known as polyurethane foam. A thermal barrier is designed to slow down the temperature rise of the foam during a fire hazard and also allows the foam’s involvement and contact with the fire.

The building code definition of an approved thermal barrier is one which is equal in fire resistance to 1/2 inch gypsum board or drywall. These types of thermal barriers prevent the temperature from rising from the polyurethane foam lying underneath this board to not rise over 250° F after a 15 minute fire exposure. Where should this thermal barrier be used then? Where is it necessary or required? The building code indicates that a thermal barrier should be present on the habitable side of a structure such as a building or home and this barrier should be between the interior part of the structure and the polyurethane foam. In the majority of cases where spray polyurethane foam is used in a home, the foam must be separated from the habitable area by a layer of ½-inch drywall.

Spray-Applied Polyurethane Foam

Why is this necessary you may wonder? Spray-applied polyurethane foam just like most organic materials, is combustible. So if this SPF were to be exposed to any sort of fire source such as welding arcs, cutting torches, red hot metal among many others, it could ignite and be hazardous. Building codes require these thermal barriers in order to reduce any risks of flash fires and also to prolongate the time that the foam would typically reach its auto ignition temperature if a fire were to occur or originate from any other sort of source. So as we can see a thermal barrier is imperative to be present in order to have a safe and comfortable home and to prevent flash fires. Always make sure to put you safety first.

Spray foam insulation is the best option in the market to make your home a better place. Due to its great and effective moisture-resistant seal and air leak prevention, this insulation method will save you money that otherwise would be spent on those monthly electric bills. Once you have decided that spray foam insulation is indeed the best option for creating a cozy home, let’s take a look at some of the great things it offers and some of the things you must have in mind that are not so good. Why is this important? Because when you see these things you become sure of the benefits you will acquire and at the same time know of the little things that may occur that may not be so great but you already knew ahead of time which will make it easier to handle.

Pros & Cons

Pros 
-Highest R- value
-Prevents air leaks
-Covers hard to get spots
-Prevents mold, mildew etc.
-Saves energy costs

-Long lifetime 80+ years
-Comfy Home
-Holds better than other insulation methods
-Warmer Winters and Cooler Summers
-Stays in place
-Prevents moisture infiltration

Cons

-Foam may not look too attractive
-Needs professional installation
-There will be some odor while applied
– Slightly more expensive

The Best Home Improvement Choice

You will for sure find more pros than cons when it comes to spray foam insulation. This advanced material will last you for a very long time as you see above. That one time expense that you make will definitely be worth the many many years of saving on your utility bills leaving you with extra cash in the long run and making you and your family feel comfortable inside your home despite the weather conditions. On average homeowners have found to save up to 30% or more on their electric bills. Many have found this to be one of the best home improvements they could of made. Be proud of your decision.

One of the many questions customers wonder before hiring any sort of service is how much money they will spend, especially when it comes to insulating their home. Spray foam Insulation Pricing is usually calculated by the volume of a board foot in many areas (1 board foot = 12” x 12” x 1” thick). It is important to know that pricing can vary widely from state to state.

Factors That Influence The Insulation Pricing

Pricing for the application for this type of insulation is influence by various factors. Lets take a look at some of them.

● Spray foam type desired
There are two main types of of spray foam insulation options, there is open cell spray foam insulation and closed cell spray foam insulation. Although both of these are commonly used, each one has a difference in function. Each one of these differ mainly in their density which will contribute to its R-value. The higher the R-value the greater the insulation power you get. Open cell spray foam is mostly limited to interior use and closed cell can be used both in the interior or exterior parts of a home or building. For example closed cell spray foam can be used in areas where contact with water is likely to occur. Open cell spray foam can be used in areas that have little exposed to moisture.

Open cell foam insulation is cheaper whereas Closed cell is a little more spendy. The price
difference is due to a few different factors, mostly the difficulty of installation and the amount of base product each different product uses.

● Labor required

It is important to keep in mind this type of installation will take allot of labor and man hours. The cost of labor is usually the largest cost during the whole installation process. This sort of job really should be installed by a certified professional in order to do the job correctly, so this is usually installed with skilled certified labor that is a higher dollar per hour than basic labor.
.
● Area being covered

Another important factor in the pricing of spray foam insulation is the area the customer wants covered. How many square feet will be sprayed? Will it only be a small area? The entire building? How big is the attic or basement? In other words the larger the area the more material used therefore higher the overall price will be, but the cheaper the project will be per board foot.
● Region

What area do you live in? This will also be an important factor as to how much you will need to pay. Prices vary from place to place. Most of these variations in price are due to the cost of labor in your area and the price the base material pricing and of course the amount of local demand has an impact as well. As you can see, there is not a specific set price for spray foam insulation, pricing varies due to various factors. What is true though, is that despite what you may spend, it will be worth your every penny.

When it comes to insulating your home, is it a very big decision and quite an investment to make yet a very important thing to do in order to have a well insulated home is to have a well sealed home. You hear of many different home insulation options on the market for example fiberglass, cellulose, spray foam etc. But what insulation method is really the best for your house?

For starters, why does having a well sealed home matter? Well making sure that your home is properly sealed is extremely important because when you have a well sealed home, you stop convection heat transfer and maximize efficiency. Lets explain this further, there are 3 types of heat transfer; Radiation, Conduction & Convection. Of the 3 types of heat transfer Convection can account for up to 70% of heat transfer. Convection heat transfer is basically heat transfer by air movement. Its like a hair dryer, you turn on the switch, the electricity heats up the heating element and a fan blows air over heated element and transfers that hot air to your hair. That same effect happens in your home in a couple different ways.

3 types of convection heat transfer

1) External Air Transfer; this is when hot or cold air moves from the outside of your home to the inside of your home.

2) Internal Air Transfer; this is the movement of air from the inside of your home to the outside of your home.

3) In-Wall Convection; this is the unnoticed & unthought of heating / cooling bill killer. This can account for up to 20% of your homes heat transfer.

The way this works is the walls of your home heat up in turn heating up the air in the walls. Hot air rises to the top of the wall hitting the top wall plate and transfers the heated air into or out of your home. When this happens it has to pull more air from the bottom of the wall and restarts the whole process over.

Spray Foam Insulation as Solution

It has been proven that spray foam insulation is the only type of insulation that effectively and properly seals the home and stops all 3 types of convection heat transfer.

Bottom line is nobody wants a home that leaks air because all that it does is cost you higher energy bills month by month due to the high energy cycles performed by your cooling and heating systems. The areas where air leaks into and out of a home are often hidden from one’s view. Air leakage can be through holes, gaps, cracks, around window frames, around electrical boxes, pipe penetrations and many other areas. All these air leaks can cause an amazing 30-50% of energy loss.

Besides the expense of utility bills, when a home is not sealed it allows for excess moisture and contaminants to enter and pollute your in-home environment. Proper sealing will reduce outside noise pollution, allergens entering and will greatly add to your overall home comfort.

Cold weather performance

You may be wondering  what Is the most energy efficient insulation for my San Antonio Home. The short answer is Spray Foam to find out why this Eco friendly insulation can save you big bucks on your energy bill read below .

Attic spray foam insulation is becoming the future of insulation. Many other insulation methods are getting left behind and slowly becoming used less and less with time. Why? Compared to spray foam insulation, these insulation methods are less efficient, they can cause up to 50% of air leakage of your hot or cold air when it should be kept inside. Spray foam insulation on the other hand acts as a glue for your roof sheathing helping it stay in place and helps double the strength of your walls, especially during harsh weather like strong winds and in the cold.

Guaranteed Lower Monthly Electricity Bill

Have you ever experienced being in a warm room then going to the next lets say your living room but now it feels cold? You’ll be happy to know that with spray foam insulation this hotter and colder room problem will be gone! During the cold season we all enjoy having a warm cozy home, and this insulation method is perfect for achieving this. Spray foam insulation combats heat loss and air infiltration better than any other method! We all know how high our bills become with heaters on all day, and it’s worse when that heat is lost due to bad insulation. Why not avoid that and save cash? Spray foam insulation will guarantee you lower monthly bills, especially during the cold seasons, you can be assured that the heat will remain within your
home walls, not outside them. You savings will far out way the initial cost of attic spray foam.

When being applied, spray foam insulation reaches all the small crevices and opening present in a home preventing any sort of air leakage, guaranteed! Something that other insulation methods fail to do such as fiberglass for example. Many people who have opted for this new wonderful insulation method have said its been the best investment ever made and are happy with the results they’ve received, specially during the cold harsh months. Why not make a wise decision and join the many content buyers? We are positive you wont regret it.

Most of us enjoy having a nice air quality home to be in throughout the day. We all are affected by indoor air quality as well, especially when we have kids, or when we ourselves have allergy problems, asthma etc. Many times, we ignore the possibility that our allergies or asthma could be do not having adequate indoor air quality. Some might realize that they indeed have and air quality problem in their home but have no idea how to fix it. Well today we have the answer for you and your allergy problems!

Do Proper Insulation

One of the key points in have good air quality within the walls of your home is proper insulation. Yes that’s right, proper indoor insulation. You may think “My home is ALREADY properly insulated,” but unfortunately that may not be the case. Here is why: Typical home insulation methods such as fiberglass and cellulose can CAUSE airborne pollutants to penetrate your home and this can lead to respiratory issues like asthma and even lead to mould. Mould and moisture control is critical for your home to be healthy. On the other hand, spray foam insulation, is becoming the most popular insulation method on the market due to the great ability to has to make your home allergen free and helping breath easier. How you may ask?

Possible Causes of Allergens

For starters, if you already have a home with either fiberglass or cellulose or any other commercial insulation method applied you may of noticed that with time you had mold growing. That can be one of the many causes for allergens to begin and for your health to be affected as well. These traditional insulation methods cannot reject water, instead they soak it up, like a sponge! This in the long run can potentially damage your home and begin to compromise the way the insulation functions, making less effective. On the other hand by choosing to apply spray foam as your new insulation, when water is present rather than absorbing this water it passes through allowing you to detect instantly if there are any water leaks present and repair them quickly.

Secondly, traditional insulation cannot minimize in any way the amount of dust and any sort of pollutant from entering your home walls. This can cause respiratory issues such as asthma for instance for anyone in your home. That is ANOTHER reason why spray foam insulation is so
great because when applied it instantly makes your home to be sealed adequately minimizing dust, airborne pollutants or allergens from entering your home. Now that is something worth investing in.

What could be more important than your health and home environment quality?
It is know that 90% of Americans spend most of their time, therefore indoor air quality surely is on the priority list. We can see how beneficial spray foam insulation can be and the wonders it can achieve unlike other insulation methods. Spray foam in unique because it provides an air
barrier and a moisture barrier so there are no possibilities whatsoever for any allergens, pollen, dust, or mold from entering your home! Why not ease your allergy problems or asthma attacks by installing spray foam insulation. Guaranteed you will not regret!