R-Value

Insulating your office, building or home has never been simpler than it is today. Not only are there numerous insulation materials to choose from, you will also find different installation and application variation choices available in the market. When we talk about insulation, the term R-Value is usually brought up; one that is vital to the very fabric of this technology.

R-value also referred to as “thermal resistance” is a calculation of the amount of resistance a material has to heat flow. It allows you to know how well a certain material blocks the heat. The higher the R-Value, the more effective an insulation is. R-Value is dependent on the type of insulation material, its density and its thickness. The thicker the insulation material, the more effective it is in resisting heat flow. Same is true with a higher density material. A thinner insulation material with higher density can be equivalent to a thicker insulation with lower density in its insulating effectiveness.

There are numerous factors that can affect the R-Value of an insulation material. One is aging. This is the primary reason why insulation materials need to be replaced every few years. As the material ages, it loses its thermal resistance and its insulating properties diminishes over time. How long would depends on the quality of the insulation material. A good quality one would last longer before needing replacement while a poor-quality material would not even last for a few months. At worst, a cheap insulation material is like not having any insulation at all and just money wasted. Second factor would be moisture. A wet insulation would lose its insulating value fast, henceforth it is imperative that an effective cladding material like aluminum foil is used to protect it from getting wet. Last would be compression. This is mostly applicable to the fibrous insulation category. Materials like fiberglass wool would increase its R-Value per inch up to a certain level but the total R-Value does decrease. For example, R19– 6 inches fiberglass wool would have an R-Value of 3.1 per inch but if you compress this into a 4-inch stud wall you would get R14, or 3.5 per inch. Much higher R-Value per inch but the overall R-Value has decreased from R19 to R14. This is another reason why you should always go for higher quality insulation materials with strong rebound rate vs an inferior one which would sag when compressed or worst is already sagged prior to installation which is equivalent to zero insulation and wasted investment.

To sum it up, the higher the R-Value, the more efficient and better it is at insulating and improving the energy efficiency in your homes, buildings and offices. Our brand Patsum provide you better quality insulation products at the right price.