Cellulose Vs Fiberglass Blown In Insulation Attic

Assuming your current attic insulation is made from fiberglass and has a value of r 13 you d have to add roughly 10 inches of additional fiberglass to hit r 38.

Cellulose vs fiberglass blown in insulation attic.

Cellulose resists blowing when installed fiberglass tends to blow around stick to the attic ceiling and drift. When should you use blown in attic insulation for your home. Another important benefit from dense packed cellulose is its ability to limit air movement which cuts down on heat loss through convection. At 3 5 per inch of material the r value of blown in cellulose is 23 better per inch than fiberglass batts.

You can get to the same place with either material. Loose fill or blown cellulose insulation is manufactured primarily from recycled newspapers a very benign product so it poses virtually no ongoing health risk. The higher the r value the higher the performance with heat the insulation has. Fibreglass is perhaps the most common product available in the market for insulation outpacing its close competitor cellulose by 50 1.

Cellulose has an r value of r 3 2 to 3 8 per inch. Making cellulose a better choice for homes in northern climates. It is made of shredded paper plus a fire retardant chemical known as a borate. What this basically means is the ability the insulation has to resist heat flow.

With that said most homeowners agree that blown cellulose is slightly more efficient due to the face that it blocks more air than fiberglass. Fiberglass batts however are less expensive costing on average 0 30 to 0 40 a square foot for 6 inches of insulation. The paper is broken down into cellular fibers that provide insulation. Fiberglass insulation contains billions of tiny glass fibers which contain trapped bubbles of air.

Cellulose produces much less static than fiberglass. Installation costs for blown in insulation costs around 2 a square foot where installation costs for batts is around 1 a square foot. Loose fill fiberglass has an r value of r 2 2 to 2 7 per inch. Or 7 inches of cellulose.

Another major weakness of fiberglass insulation which does nothing to stop air from passing through it. Both fibreglass and cellulose are the two most inexpensive insulation products that you could use. Cellulose insulation includes cellulose cells that have natural insulating power. More consistent pricing from cellulose manufacturers than fiberglass.

The higher the r value the more efficient it is. Blown fiberglass on the other hand is made up of very fine strands of glass and these tiny fibers are a carcinogen that can easily be inhaled into your lungs. When comparing blown in insulation both fiberglass and cellulose are nearly identical in price both costing around 0 70 to 0 80 per square foot for 6 inches of insulation.