Making buildings and houses habitable in comfort in places where extremes in either hot or cold climate exist has spawned its own big industry dealing in insulation. People living in these places have learned to insulate their abodes. Through the years, they have discovered the many insulation materials now in use.
The materials are widely different from one another, although they work the same way following the same principles of conserving heat (in cold times) and expelling them (in hot weather). They comprise bulky fiber materials (fiberglass, rock and slag wool, cellulose, natural fibers, foils, foam boards) all used to resist the flow of heat in structures.
List of insulating materials
The foam boards that are rigid trap the air to control conductive heat flow. The reflective foils deflect the radiant heat away to cool the living spaces. Aside from the listed familiar materials, there are still other uncommon materials (vermiculite, phenolic foam, perlite and cementitious) used in insulation.
The following materials (not in the order of consumer preference) have their own unique characteristics that home owners and contractors use accordingly. The choices are all dependent on the needs of your house (old, new or still to be constructed) and some compromises dictated by the price.
Fiberglass
This is first on the list as this happens to be a favorite material among home builders and owners in the insulation business. This is made from fine glass fibers used in blankets (batts or rolls) and as loose-fill. They also come in as rigid boards and duct insulation.
In loose-fill, the molten glass is spun and blown into fibers using insulation-blowing machines. This is used in attic spaces and closed-cavity applications.
Mineral Wool
This one has two types: rock wool (made from natural minerals) and slag wool (from slag materials in blast furnaces). They are 75% recycled and do not need any chemicals to make them fire-resistant.
Both are usually manufactured into batts and rolls and as loose-fill insulation as well.
Cellulose
This is manufactured from recycled paper products (newsprint usually). During the recycling, the makers add borate or they sometimes blend it with ammonium sulfate. Both processes make the material fire and insect resistant. It does not need any moisture barrier.
Among owners, this is usually the choice for use in new homes and in attic installations as loose-fit. This is also used as dense-packed filling in building cavities (usually the walls and ceilings).
Cotton
The material is made of 85% recycled cotton and 15% plastic fibers treated with borate (an insect repellent). Some makers use trim wastes of recycled blue jeans.
The material is non-toxic and is available in batts. One environmental point is that it uses very minimal energy in its manufacture.
Plastic Fiber
The material is made from recycled plastic (PET) bottles. It has a fire-retardant, also it melts when exposed to flame.
These days, there are many insulation materials being used in many types of projects. The above list comprises only those familiar materials. More are in the pipeline.
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