Building insulation materials is used depends on a wide variety of factors. Some insulation materials have health risks, some so significant the materials are no longer allowed to be used but remain in use in some older buildings such as asbestos fibers and urea. Factors affecting the type and amount of insulation to use in a building include: Considerations regarding building and climate: Often a combination of materials is used to achieve an optimum solution and there are products which combine different types of insulation into a single form. Spray foam is a type of insulation that is sprayed in place through a
Building insulation materials It has no significant mass to absorb and retain heat. It also has very low emittance values "E-values" (typically 0.03 compared to 0.90 for most bulk insulation) which significantly reduces heat transfer by radiation. Radiant barriers can function as a vapor barriers and serve both purposes with one product. Materials with one shiny side (such as foil-faced polystyrene) must be positioned with the shiny side facing an air space to be effective. An aluminum foil radiant barrier can be placed either way - the shiny side is created by the rolling mill during the manufacturing process and does not affect