R-Values
Although the importance of insulation in energy efficiency is
well known, insulation tends to be a building product that consumers
know little about, but directly affects their lifestyles. Many
times the connection of insulation to someone's unhappiness
with their home's efficiency or well being is overlooked. Insulation
is generally only 1-2%, or even less of the total cost to build
a home, but it directly affects the costs to live in that home
for years to come.
Everyone knows about recommended insulation R-values - the resistance
to heat transfer. But few stop to consider the whole story is.
R-values are measured under ideal circumstances without the
exceptions and details that are so much a part of modern building
construction. Windows, doors, dormers, utility entrances, overhangs,
sunrooms, and decks make it virtually impossible to seal the
building envelope against air migration through the house. In
addition, plumbing, wiring, and heating services within the
outside wall and throughout the house virtually guarantee that
conventional insulation methods will not prevent the in-wall
convection currents that reduce actual R-value to a fraction
of the theoretical rating. Even if great care is taken with
the installation of "economy" insulation types, they
are subject to deterioration, movement, and settling as the
building surfaces expand and contract.
BioBased 501 foam expands 100 times when it is sprayed into
place - sealing holes, cracks, rough-in openings, perimeter
joists, and other areas that conventional methods can't touch.
Then, BioBased 501 stays in place. It flexes with the building,
maintains its seal, and keeps its shape so that the "R-value"
remains true for the life of the building.