While all insulation does help maintain a regular temperature inside your home, it is definitely not all created equal. Fiberglass, the most commonly-used and typically less expensive option, is certainly effective in parts of the home, but spray foam insulation is by far a more superior choice in areas where it gets particularly hot, humid, or cold — like attics. Here are a few of the reasons why:
Attics insulated with spray foam can lower energy bills anywhere between 30-50%. That's because spray foam uses open cell technology, which means the material expands when applied and is flexible, so it fills hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. These spaces are difficult to insulate with standard fiberglass insulation, which has a set shape. With spray foam, every square inch of your attic can be protected from the extreme temperatures of outside air.
Not only will the living spaces of your home feel cooler, more comfortable, and more evenly regulated, your attic (which can reach up to 140 degrees in the summer!) will stay within 10 degrees of the thermostat of the home. If you've ever been in the attic of an older home in Alabama in the summer, you know how amazing this is!
It's possible because your HVAC system, which is installed in the attic, is now inside the thermal envelope of the home, which means it doesn't have to work as hard in extreme heat. The result is that it cools air more effectively, giving you a more comfortable home and lower energy bills.
With spray foam insulation, humid and pesky allergens that normally penetrate a home through a vented attic will have a much harder time doing so. That means that the air the HVAC system pulls in through the attic to filter will contain fewer harmful particles, so your inside air is cleaner and fresher. People with allergies or other breathing difficulties will notice an immediate difference in a Stone Martin Builders home.
Fiberglass insulation installed in an attic can last a while, but deterioration and loss of effectiveness occurs over time. Spray foam, however, works efficiently and remains effective for the lifetime of the home, making it a much more cost-effective solution in the long run.
Stone Martin Builders is proud to offer spray foam insulation in each and every home we build. In the extreme heat of Alabama summers, spray foam just performs better, so we made it standard. We spray the underside of the roof decking and in between the studs and roof supports, all the way down to the top plates of the walls. Because exterior walls are not exposed to such extreme temperatures as the attic is, they get high-quality fiberglass insulation. With this hybrid model, our customers get all the benefits of spray foam, without the high cost.
The hybrid spray foam system is the way of the future. It is not only saving money on energy costs but is changing people’s lives one breath at a time.
