Spray Foam Insulation Thickness R Value

These r values are a sum meaning this should be the total r value once you add up the entire depth of insulation.

Spray foam insulation thickness r value.

R value is a measurement of thermal resistance and measures the ability of heat to transfer from one side of an object to another. The table below shows what levels of insulation are cost effective for different climates and. Recommended home insulation r values. When calculating the r value of a multilayered installation add the r values of the individual layers.

However there are open cell spray foam insulation products actually offer r 3 7 per inch such as icynene classic and. Open cell foam insulation values r3 r4. Insulation level are specified by r value. The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation.

Open cell spray foams are between 5 and 1 lbs per cubic foot and have an r value of 3 0 4 0 per inch of insulation. For example if you have a type of insulation that has an r value of r 5 per inch of thickness you will need a depth of 6 inches of this insulation installed in your attic to reach r 30 if you live in zones 2 or 3. R value is a measure of insulation s ability to resist heat traveling through it. As a benchmark one inch of solid wood has an r value of 1.

For 6 inches r 15 or r 19 etc. Focusing on spray foam insulation materials there is a difference between the two main types. Closed cell spray foam r values. The r value of fiberglass insulation is approximately 2 2 per inch so much thicker fiberglass insulation is required to achieve the same r value of 38.

Closed cell spray foam has a far better r value per inch than other less effective insulations like cellulose fiberglass or even open cell foam. Why spray foam insulation is so effective in meeting code requirements is that it has a higher r value per inch of product used than batts. In comparison an inch of blown fiberglass insulation has an r value of 3 1 3 4 and. According to industry publication fine home building the r value for open cell spray foam is between r 3 5 r 3 6 per inch.

Insulstar spray foam insulation is a spray applied semi rigid cellular polyurethane foam plastic insulation having a maximum thickness of 2 inches and a nominal density of 2 0 pcf insulstar has an r value of 5 77 per inch so the maximum thickness of 2 inches yields an r value of about 11 5. The common denominator among varieties of insulation is the r value. The r value of some insulations also depends on temperature aging and moisture accumulation. The r value of spray foam insulation is approximately 6 per inch so those using spray foam as their insulator will need about 6 3 inches of thickness to reach r 38.

Closed cell spray foam insulation. R values are additive so you can multiple the number of inches of insulation thickness times the r value to arrive at a total insulation value. The r value depends on the type of insulation its thickness and its density.