Soy vs. Fiberglass, In a Nutshell

In a nutshell, an inch of foam is worth more than a yard of fiberglass.

Ounce-for ounce and dollar-for-dollar, foam out-performs traditional insulation like this:  a  lowly Styrofoam cup, a mere 1/8" thick protects your hand from scalding coffee. A cup made of a yard of fiberglass won't do it- the hot liquid will quickly saturate the fiberglass and scald your hand. It works the same way in building envelopes: it get wet (water vapor) and air passes through (wind).

What's inside, stays inside

The problem with fiberglass is that it works fine in a vacuum, but building envelops are rarely vacuums: in the real world there is wind, water vapor, and wind-driven liquid water. Foam on the other hand allows neither air nor moisture through, so what's inside (heat or cold) tends to stay inside. This is of course a simplified illustration, but it's largely true.

Soy-based spray foam insulation—higher R value than its petroleum-based cousins

Soy-based spray foam in particular is of interest because it's R value is slightly higher than its petroleum-based cousins (7.4 vs. 6.6/ inch), but also because every pound of soy polyol used in the formula replaces a pound of petroleum.  Not to mislead- there is less than 10% soy in the overall formula, and there is also still a fair amount of petroleum in the overall mix. But the soy is a BYPRODUCT of soybean production, so it doesn’t steal food from the mouths of babes, nor does it drive up the cost of soybeans.

Energy savings yields a much ‘greener’ product

Expense-wise: spray foam costs about 3 x 'traditional' insulation, BUT the return-on-investment (ROI) is significantly shorter- usually less than 6 years at current fuel prices (3 years if air conditioned too), and as fuel cost goes up, ROI goes down. In a sense there is no ROI at all with traditional insulation because it doesn't "save" any money. Insulating a typical new house with fiberglass costs $5000 vs. $15000 with spray foam; and the cost of heat is $400/ mo with fiberglass vs. $125 with spray foam (a realistic comparison), the $10000 cost delta would be paid back (ROI) in 6 years at current fuel prices (3 years if the house is air conditioned). Once the delta is 'paid off' the savings continue every month, and even increase as fuel cost rises; with fiberglass there is no savings, and the cost actually increases as fuel costs rise.  Although it costs more per pound to manufacture foam over fiberglass, the energy savings it yields makes it a much ‘greener’ product.

That's it in a nutshell.

Please contact us at The Green Cocoon if we can help you with your insulation project.