Best Roof Insulation Material: Your Go-To Guide

However, although there are priority areas to pay attention to (such as roofs, walls and floors), coverage needs to be comprehensive.

Indeed, it can be all too easy to overlook hard-to-reach places, such as around ducts and pipework-but homeowners do so at their detriment.

Today, we will talk about roof insulation, and more specifically, the best roof insulation material on the market today. So without further ado, let’s get started…

Let’s start with the simple question, and the simple answer. If you do not install insulation in your home, more heat leaves the house, and the more money you need to spend on heating and cooling your home. Let’s go section by section.

Your walls allow for 35% heat loss when not insulated. You can add either external or internal wall insulation. Your windows and doors allow for 15% heat loss, and the solution is to add glazing, shutters, and curtains. As for your roof, it allows 25% heat loss, which is the second highest after walls.

In addition to this, your floor allows for 15% heat loss, and again, insulation is the solution. Last, but not least, you have gaps and cracks that allow 10% heat loss in total.

So now that you know exactly where heat escapes from, the next question on your lips is likely to be ‘what’s the best way to resolve it?’

Insulation should always be your first port of call, and a quick search online reveals that D.I.Y spray foam kits abound-making many a homeowner mistakenly believe that this project is akin to assembling a piece of flat-pack furniture themselves.

Of course, it can be all too tempting to tackle the project at hand yourself, but when you factor in all of the problems a D.I.Y installation could entail, it’s far more trouble than it’s worth. Moral of the story? Get it right the first time, by enlisting the help of the experts to avoid issues from surfacing at a later date.

Overall, the best way to keep the heat inside and outside (depending on the conditions), is to insulate your roof, as this is the main area that heat will escape from. A thorough evaluation of the attic is necessary, as this will ascertain your current level of insulation, as well as how well it’s stood the test of time.

As with most things in life, quantity doesn’t always mean quality; in the case of insulation, looks can definitely be deceiving.

One common misconception among homeowners is that if they have an ample amount of insulation in their attic, that automatically means that their home is protected against heat loss.

Unfortunately, this is far from the case.

Traditional materials, such as fibreglass and cellulose, may function effectively to start with, but over time, their overall thermal performance is compromised, as the insulation loses contact with the framing.

This inevitably leads to air leaks, which, consequently, increase reliance on external appliances to make up for the shortfall of heat.

Let’s get into math and science for a moment. The best way to determine whether you need more insulation and the heat loss of your home is by the U-value.

This is the ratio of the temperature difference across your house. U-value calculates the watts per square meter kelvin [W/(m2K)].

In simple terms, this is the amount of energy lost. You can always check the U-value calculator online to see if you need more insulation.

Before we answer the question what is the best roof insulation material, we have to take a look at all the options. There is a variety of insulation types you can use. Some of your options include wood fiber, cellular glass, gypsum board, and much more.

It is our firm belief that spray foam is the best roof insulation material. Yes, it is more expensive than other materials, but there are simply way too many advantages.

The trick with spray foam is that you need experts to get the job done. Often, SPF (spray foam) is poorly installed. The reason is simple. Because of the increased demand, there are more installers into the market, many of which lack the experience and quality control. But if you get a reliable, BBA approved company, you will get an insulation material that is better than alternatives (fiberglass and cellulose).

Here are some benefits of the best roof insulation material on the market today:

In the end, it all comes down to whether you want the best roof insulation material, or the cheaper one. Yes, spray foam can cost two to three times more than fiberglass insulation. But the advantages surely justify the price.