Insulation Term
Could someone explain the differences between a radiant heat barrier and blown in insulation when insulating the crawl space below a brownstone roof?
Could someone explain the differences between a radiant heat barrier and blown in insulation when insulating the crawl space below a brownstone roof?
Oh – well spraying-in insulation is great for a couple of reasons: as opposed to batt insulation it really fills up all the cracks and seams and weak points.
I would tend to go with the spray-in as well – especially since almost all the insulation types that are blown in have a higher R (insulatory) value than fiberglass. This is all fairly easy research to do.
Best practice – blow in cellulose (R3.8 per inch and easy on the environment) and fur out 1″ foil faced rigid polyisocyanurate board on interior (foil face facing in).
Thanks so much. National Grid is promoting foil barrier, while other sources recommend blown in. Your info is very helpful.
radiant heat barrier is something used in cold climates to reflect heat back into space – usually the foil face on batt insulation.
blown in insulation does not have this foil face.
When we blow in insulation, we often fur out the surface (wall or ceiling) with rigid insulation which can have a foil face for radiant barrier.
What kind of insulation are you blowing in? Please keep in mind that the current blowing agent for closed cell foam (the air impermeable stuff) is impossibly terrible for the environment. If this is something you are concerned about, please ask the insulation contractor what blowing agent he is using (is it HFC? if so, it has approximately 100x global warming potential of Co2.)
Not trying to be judgey judgey with above comment – just throwing it out there in case its part of your thought process.