When temperatures drop and you look for ways to stay warm inside your home, insulation is not usually one of the comfort factors that comes to mind. Perhaps you've tried jacking up the furnace or you splurged on new windows - to no avail.
A key component that either helps or hinders your home's comfort lies behind your walls and attic. It's the insulation, and if it's not performing like it should be, you'll definitely notice.
You see, even if you have a top-of-the-line furnace installed and energy-efficient windows, your home could be leaking lots of energy through the walls. That is, if the insulation can't do its job.
If you want to stay warm this winter, insulation is definitely a factor worth exploring. When you're ready to retrofit the walls in your home, consider these two options.
How to choose insulation
Two commonly used insulation products include spray foam insulation and injection foam insulation. They share certain characteristics, while differing in a few significant ways.
Here's a rundown of their similarities and differences.
| Spray Foam | Injection Foam | |
| What is it? | A high-density, high-performance insulating foam plastic. | A phenolic-based methylene-linked synthetic polymer made of an aqueous resin solution and foaming agent/catalyst. These materials are combined with compressed air to create a material with shaving-cream consistency. |
| Does it act as an air barrier? | Yes | Yes |
| Does it control moisture? | Yes | Yes |
| What is the R-value? | 3.2 to 3.6 R-value | 5.1 R-value |
| What application is it suited to? | Spray foam is ideal for unfinished walls, due to its expanding capabilities. It also lends structural support to walls. | Injection foam is ideally suited to finished walls, as the liquid substance is pumped into the walls, completely filling the area. Shortly after, it hardens. |
Learn the difference between common insulation types before you buy. If you'd like help evaluating the best type of insulation for your walls, contact USA Insulation today!
