Stay On Top: Roof Awareness To Protect Your Home

Posted on: 16 May 2016

Metal roof insulation is one of the most effective ways to cut down on energy costs in your home. It will cool your home during summer, provide enough warmth during winter, and cut down your utility bills. Insulating your metal roof also has an environmental advantage of reducing effects of global warming. Various types of metal roof insulation materials exist. The performance of different types of insulation materials can be compared using the R-value rating. R-value provides the actual resistance to flow of heat of the material being used for insulation. Larger R-value materials are more effective for your insulating project. Have a look at choices that can fit your budget and meet your specific insulation needs.

Fiberglass Batt Insulation

This is the cheapest type of metal roof insulation in the market. It uses long strands made of fiberglass material with attached vinyl well built-in vapour barrier. Reflective insulation may also be used to cover the fiberglass. Strong rays form the sun are reflected away by this reflective material creating a comfortable and cool environment in your house. When doing this type of insulation, ensure to tape up any gaps, rips and seams to prevent leakages.

Rigid-foam insulation

Rigid-foam insulation exists in different types with different R-values, hence different performance. When selecting one of these options, be wise to consider the effect it will have on the performance of your metal roof. Here are the three types under this classification:

• Expanded Polystyrene: It has the lowest R-value. Most of this type of insulation material is fragile and semipermeable, hence does not create a vapour barrier.
• Extruded Polystyrene: These types are easily recognized by their pink, green, or blue colour. They have an average R-value falling in the middle of the three types of rigid-foam insulation. It is known to be a vapour retarder and cannot act as a vapour barrier.
• Polyisocyanurate: They are expensive with the highest R-values. Though costly, it is the most effective form of rigid-foam insulation for your metal roof.

Spray foam Insulation

This type of insulation is an alternative for the fiberglass option. It is composed of a mixture of polyol and isocyanate. The two components come together at the end of a gun system that generates an expanding foam. This foam is sprayed on the metal roof as the insulation material.

Therefore, when purchasing an insulation material for your metal roof, make necessary inquiries on the different R-values and performance abilities to come up with one that suits your needs.