One of the most fundamental aspects of keeping your home’s heating and cooling costs down is making sure it’s equipped with quality insulation. It’s also important that any insulation you choose is installed so that no gaps are present and it all fills your home’s wall spaces evenly. By far the most important thing to know when choosing insulation is its R-value which determines its thermal resistance. There are some types of insulation that are cheaper than others, but along with the R-value of the materials, you’ll have to research suppliers. Also, keep in mind that most homes will have more than one type of insulation installed.

Fiberglass Batt Roll Insulation

This is usually the cheapest insulation material you can use in a home, and it’s also the softest and most flexible of any of the other materials. But it also has its limitations such as it can tear if you aren’t careful, and it will deteriorate if it’s installed in areas where moisture can permeate. Usually this kind of insulation is ideal for installing between floor joists and up in attics. In some cases, it’s also installed in unfinished walls where drywall hasn’t been laid in yet.

Rigid Foam Insulation

Rigid foam insulation is typically what you see placed on the exterior of houses before all the siding and trim is installed. This kind of polyurethane or polystyrene material is a little more durable than fiberglass and is meant to hold up better against moisture and outdoor elements than fiberglass. It’s also more expensive and has a higher R-value. While it is stronger than the fiberglass insulation rolls, cutting panels and fitting them as this kind of insulation requires takes quite a bit of skill.

Spray Foam And Blow-in Insulations

Sometimes insulation is better off installed using what’s known as spray containers, or sometimes containers that allow it to be poured in cavities. Spray foam and blow-in insulation are both installed this way, only with different materials. Spray foam tends to be installed in the same areas as rigid foam, and it often serves the same purposes, except that it has more flexibility when sprayed in to fit around obstacles, and then harden into similar form as rigid foam. Blow-in insulation effectively looks like fiberglass bat insulation, and sometimes is sprayed on top of those rolls.

Reflective Radiant Insulation

When you have asphalt roofing on houses in hotter climates, it tends to attract more heat into the attic and sometimes overheat and filter into the rest of your home. To keep from overspending on cooling costs, reflective insulation can be installed under the roof to keep that heat from penetrating into the rooms underneath the attic and redirect it away. However, there will need to be an air space so the heat can be transferred out of the attic. While this reflective aluminum or foil type of insulation is great at reducing heat, it’s not usually recommended for colder climates where heat needs to be retained in a home.

In conclusion, those are the main choices for home insulation, although there are a few other options for insulating concrete and other masonry. Installing insulation may appear to be easy in theory, but it can take quite a bit of time if you’re inexperienced and don’t know the best methods for ensuring precision. Professional installers will make sure it’s installed evenly and without being damaged, and also ensure that it lasts for years without needing replacement barring any significant natural disasters that damage your home.