Last Updated on October 12, 2022 by Spray Foam Insulation Plus
Minnesota’s climate is extreme, especially in winters. Winters in Minnesota have below-freezing temperatures. Freezing rains, ice, and snowfall all occur in the freezing winters. Moreover, blizzards hit Minnesota every winter season. The early spring season brings with it snowstorms. The point is that the weather in Minnesota is extreme. However, this article is not about Minnesota’s weather, but it’s about helping you understand the type of attic insulation that would be best for the harsh cold Minnesota weather.
Important of Attic Insulation
Have you ever experienced cold drafts drifting through your home, especially down the attic steps? This is one of the many signs of an uninsulated or improperly insulated attic. Attic insulation is the most important home insulation if you live in a city with extreme temperatures. Whether it is extremely hot or extremely cold, attic insulation becomes a need. We will discuss why attic insulation is important in houses in cold regions like Minnesota.
An uninsulated attic allows cold freezing air to enter your home. This is because of uncountable holes and cracks in the attic walls, roof, and other areas. No matter how effective your heating system works to make sure your home stays warm, an uninsulated attic will not let that happen.
Cold air will continuously enter your home and disrupts the internal temperature. You might even have to face the problem of ice dams, which damages the roof. This is why it is immensely important to get your attic insulated to improve the overall energy efficiency of your home.
Spray Foam Insulation Is The Best Attic Insulation For Minnesota
We are not going to just claim that spray foam insulation is the best option for attic insulation; we are going to prove it by facts. There are many characteristics and properties of spray foam insulation that make it an overall best option for not just attic insulation but also other parts of your home. However, in this article, we will discuss the property that makes it best for Minnesota weather, which is its R-value.
High R-Value
The R-value of insulation material is the measurement of the thermal resistance of that material. It is the measure of the degree of heat transfer from one side of that material to the other. In simple words, how good the material is at insulating. Spray foam is widely known for its high R-value, which means it is a great insulating material.
The recommended R-value of insulation in the homes of Minnesota is 49. If your walls are plain thick wood with no insulation, the R-value for it is just 1.
The R-values of spray foam insulation vary between its two types. Open-cell spray foam insulation has an R-value of up to 3.6 per inch, whereas closed-cell spray foam has up to 6.5 per inch R-value. Closed-cell spray foam has the highest R-value among most insulation materials. It is considered the best insulation material. Moreover, it is a great air-sealant as well.
How to Calculate R-Value?
It is very simple to calculate the R-value of insulating material. It depends on the degree of thickness to which the insulation material is applied. This means how thick (in inches) is the material applied to the wall or other surfaces. If the open-cell spray foam insulation is applied at a thickness of 14 inches, then the R-value would be 50.4.
Similarly, if closed-cell spray foam insulation is applied at the same thickness, the R-value would be 91; however, you don’t need this high R-value in Minnesota. For Closed-cell spray foam, the thickness of 8 inches would be best, as it will provide the R-value of 52, which covers the recommended value of 49.
We hope that this article helped you understand a little bit about attic insulation in Minnesota and the importance of R-values. If you have any inquiries about spray foam insulation or its services, visit our website or contact us!
For more information about our spray foam insulation services, feel free to contact Spray Foam Insulation Plus, the best insulation contractors in Brainerd MN, today.
What Is The Best Type Of Attic Insulation For Minnesota
What Is The Best Type Of Attic Insulation For Minnesota
What Is The Best Type Of Attic Insulation For Minnesota
