Why insulate with foam insulation? It's a good question. And in these days of soaring energy costs and uncertain supplies, there is an obvious answer. We believe you should harness the insulating power of foam insulation. Not only is it a wise decision, but it is also practical to accomplish with a 21st Century state-of-the-art sprayed foam insulation called Spray Foam Insulation. You already know how well foam insulates. Think about the effectiveness of some common foam products that we use on a regular basis: 

The Foam Coffee Cup...
...Just 1/8" of Foam With An R-Value Of Less Than One.

Go to your favorite restaurant or 7-11 store and buy a cup of coffee. Hold the foam cup in one hand and pour yourself a cup of steaming hot coffee with the other hand. Go ahead...you won't burn your hand. The foam cup will only be warm to the touch. In fact, if the foam was a bit thicker, it is doubtful if you could feel whether the coffee was hot or cold. Only the steam would give it away. In this example, we think you'll agree that just 1/8" of foam is a pretty effective insulator.

..Just 1/2" of Foam With An R-value Of Only About Two.

This is the classic example of the insulating power of foam and a great illustration of the importance of air sealing the area you want to heat or cool. Consider your experience with a foam picnic chest. You can learn a great deal about insulating your house from its' performance. You buy one at the local drug store or Wal-Mart for a couple of dollars, and you entrust it to keep your beverages cold for the weekend. Put in the drinks and a bag of ice on Saturday morning, and put the lid down tight, and it's pretty likely that you'll still have ice left on Sunday night. (Whether or not there are drinks left is another question!) You have just proved the insulating power of about a half inch of foam with a relatively low R-value (resistance to heat flow) of only about an R-2. (Frankly, if your house was as efficient as this foam picnic chest, you'd be ecstatic!)

Deep freezers and refrigerators are most commonly insulated with 1.1/2” of polyurethane foam. If your electricity goes out in the hottest month in the summer, why is it that you can come back to your deep freeze 16 to 18 hours later and there still be ice on the sidewalls of the deep freeze? Only an R-11 polyurethane foam does amazing things.

How is it that polyurethane foam can perform like it does in the home and structures?

Homes have 3.1/2 to 5.1/2” of spray polyurethane foam applied in them. 3.1/2” of the polyurethane foam will outperform an R-26 even though it is an advertised R-13. 5.1/2” of the product installed in the envelope of structures will outperform R-38 and its advertised R-Value is only and R-22. How can this be? All fiberglass and cellulose products are air permeable products. Spray polyurethane foam products are air impermeable meaning air cannot physically travel though the insulation. By stopping air movement through the product stops energy from moving through at the rate it would normally with conventional insulations.

Reasons on why the SPF performs the way that it does:

SPF is a thermal mass..it takes six times longer to heat up and cool down than fiberglass and cellulose products at the same advertised R-Value perform at. R-13 of fiberglass and cellulose products take 4 to 6 hours to saturate with energy before they start “leaking” out the other side of the product. The same R-13 in SPF will take up to 36 hours before it saturates and” leaks” through. 5.1/2” of SPF will take up 48 hours before it saturates with energy thoroughly and starts “leaking” out the other side. What does this mean? On the hottest given day of the summer, 5.1/2” of SPF will never completely saturate with the radiant heat trying to intrude into the structure, making it easier to cool the area and making it more comfortable. With the envelope insulated with SPF, the air changeover rate in the structure is tremendously cut down. The more air tight a structure equates to substantial energy savings. In new construction, typically downsizing HVAC equipment up to 30% is very common to adjust for the change in the air changeover rate that the structure will see after SPF is properly installed.