Foam insulation sheets offer an efficient and cost-effective method to insulate your home. Available in standard-size 4×8 sheets as well as smaller sizes with various thicknesses, they make for an affordable option that won’t break the bank.
They don’t absorb moisture, and their foil faces provide a vapor barrier effect. Plus, these products may help meet local energy codes.
Rigid Foam Board
Rigid foam insulation boards can be installed in attics, walls and roofs to reduce thermal bridging and energy loss, as well as being placed between studs to prevent moisture entering wall cavities and cause vapor intrusion.
Expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS) and polyisocyanurate (polyiso) are three popular choices of rigid foam insulation materials. While both thermoplastics XPS and EPS, as well as cross-linked polymer polyiso, are susceptible to degrading over time in high humidity environments; polyiso is less vulnerable.
Polyiso rigid foam insulation boasts the highest R-value per inch of thickness among its peers and is one of the more eco-friendly rigid foam options, using water as its blowing agent and thus having a lower embodied energy footprint than competing products. Unfortunately, its absorbency causes it to lose its R-value over time, thus rendering it unsuitable for below grade applications like basements or foundations.
Polyisocyanurate
Polyiso, as it’s more commonly referred to in the industry, is widely utilized in over 70% of commercial roof construction projects. Offering continuous insulation solutions at an excellent value-for-money price point, Polyiso can reduce building energy consumption while increasing roof and wall service life significantly.
As with polyurethane foam, this material is produced using a blowing agent free from CFCs that doesn’t deplete the atmosphere. It has become increasingly popular due to its ability to provide up to an R value of 5.6 per inch for 2-inch sheets – higher than polystyrene insulation, fiberglass batt insulation or plywood.
However, it should be remembered that polyiso R-value is determined by temperature range and often specified with thermal barriers to protect it from environmental and moisture damage. PIMA sets the standard for this type of insulation product by mandating that their products have an R-value labeled at 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Polystyrene
Polystyrene has many industrial uses, spanning solid to foam forms and composite formation, as well as sheets in various sizes. Perhaps its most widely known applications are packing peanuts used to cushion smaller items in packages and disposable tableware and to-go containers in restaurants.
Polystyrene foam insulation can be found both at home and commercial construction projects as an economical way to reduce energy costs. It comes in two forms, expanded or extruded polystyrene (EPS or XPS) and polyisocyanurate (polyiso). Expanded or extruded polystyrene begins as small plastic beads fused together under heat and pressure; polyiso is a thermoset material filled with low conductivity hydrochlorofluorofluorofluorofluorocarbon-free gas in its cells; expanded/extruded polystyrene has very different thermal properties and R-values than its counterparts; although polyiso may lasts longer when applied at higher temperatures than either of EPS/XPS counterparts due its lack of lost R-value over time.
Polyurethane
Polyurethane is an amazing compound with many uses. From coatings, protection, adhesives and filling materials in various industries like construction to automotive electronics footwear furniture marine medicine polyurethane is used extensively across many applications and is known for being long lasting, dye friendly and easy to shape – just a few features it possesses!
Rubber has high elasticity, which enables it to bend and rebound easily. As such, it is used in car suspension bushings, cushioned sidewalks, foam backing in upholstered cars, flexible bollards under vehicles for traffic safety purposes as well as boat manufacturing/hull seal applications because it is light-weight and water resistant.
Closed-cell insulation made of recycled plastics makes this type of foam an eco-friendly choice, as well as sound absorption that reduces ambient noise levels. Cellulose and fiberglass insulation may also be combined with it. It may be used alone or alongside each other.