Closed cell foam insulation
While there might be some disadvantages to this as well, closed cell foam insulation is still the best solution when you’re insulating exterior walls, your attic or crawl spaces. The two major differences between closed cell insulation and open cell insulation are: the nature of the foam and density. The density of the foam insulating material is calculated by weighting one solid cubic food of foam material. It is self understood that the closed cell insulating material is denser and heavier than the open cell one. Because of this, the denser the foam is the stronger and better it becomes allowing people to even blend it into decorative interior materials. Thus, closed cell foam insulation is better than open-cell.
Open cell foam insulation has it’s cell opened and air fills the gaps while closed cell insulation has the spaces closed and filled with a special gas that allows it to expand till it fills the required insulating space.
The advantages of closed-cell foam insulation compared to open-cell are it’s higher R values, strength and a greater resistance to air leakage and water vapors. Although it has a higher R value, usually the cost per R-value is still higher than the open-cell foam. Open-cell SPF (sprayed foam ) has an R-value of about 3.5 / inch and usually uses water as the blowing agent while the closed cell foam insulation has an R-value of about 6 / inch and uses higher R-value blowing agents.
Before deciding what type of foam to use, it would be advised to contact your spray foam contractor and tell him your insulating needs so he can help you decide what’s best.
