What is the Best Insulation for Metal Buildings?

Unless you plan to use your building only seasonally, you should consider including insulation in your building purchase. Insulating your building is typically much cheaper when you do it at the time of construction, rather than afterward, and you have numerous options available to you in terms of how you might insulate it.

Not all metal building insulation options are created equal, though, and some insulation types far outperform others. A high-quality insulation system saves you substantial money over time by lowering your building’s lifelong energy expenses. Insulating your building also helps prevent condensation, which can wreak havoc on your metal building by leading to mold growth, foul odors, and related issues. So, what type of insulation system might work the best and save you the most money?

Fiberglass Insulation

At Steel Building Insulation, we have found that fiberglass insulation is the most effective – and cost-effective – way to insulate your metal building. This type of insulation traps heat and stops it from moving through the walls or roof of your steel building, keeping warm air outside during the summer and inside during the winter.

There is a good deal of design flexibility that comes with using fiberglass insulation, too. For starters, it comes in a wide range of R-values (“R-value” refers to the capacity of the insulation to resist heat flow). You can also use larger, thicker amounts of it to improve thermal performance in certain areas or even double-layer insulation systems if you are building in an especially hot or cold environment.

Vapor Retarders

We recommend purchasing a fiberglass insulation system that includes a vapor retarder. The vapor retarder helps prevent condensation even further by reducing how much water vapor enters your building through its walls or roof. Metal building condensation can lead to a wide range of problems including poor air quality, diminished resale value and high interior humidity, among others.

Alternative Options

While we consider fiberglass insulation the best way to insulate your steel building, you may also hear about spray-foam insulation, among other types. We do not recommend using alternative options for several reasons. Considerable research and a series of studies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency have shown that spray-foam insulation, for example, may contain a dangerous mix of chemicals that may prove harmful to your health.

Air leaks may also arise when you use spray-foam, rather than fiberglass, insulation. This is especially likely if the installers do an inadequate job when filling your building’s crevices. It also tends to pull away from your building’s framing over time, which may require you to make costly repairs. Other types of steel building insulation systems include bubble insulation systems and loose-fill insulation systems, to name a couple.

There is a reason fiberglass insulation has long been the insulation of choice among metal building buyers, contractors and building erectors. When it comes to durability, attractiveness and overall effectiveness, fiberglass insulation reigns supreme.