Photo: Yan Krukau

Is batt insulation better than blown in?

Practical and durable: When comparing batt insulation vs. blown cellulose, keep in mind that batt insulation is a more effective thermal barrier. The thermal performance of loose fill insulation will not last for the life of the building. Most blown-in insulation materials will settle and lose R-value over time.

atticareusa.com - How to Choose the Right Insulation Material for Your Home - Atticare

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What Type Of Insulation Should I Get: Batts Or Blown?

It is important to understand that manufacturers and insulation contractors may not always give the best recommendation regarding which insulation you should install- that is simply because they are missing important details about the structure of your attic or crawl space. We recommend about 95% of our customers to install batt insulation and here is why:

1. Batt insulation is accessible and easy to service.

We believe our customers need to have easy access to all the unfinished parts of their home because the most important systems are located in these areas. These include your home’s HVAC, plumbing, central vacuum, air ducts, electrical wires, recessed lights etc. If one of your systems malfunctions, you will need to call a professional and if you will not have easy access it might take longer to fix or in some cases will not be possible at all.

Some of the issues that can arise include the following:

The HVAC system needs to be serviced and all the wires are covered with blown insulation.

The dryer vent got disconnected

One of the recessed lights stopped working and the electrician cannot locate it because it is covered with blown insulation. Our best example is of a customer who called an HVAC company to replace his air ducts. It was almost impossible for the crew to see where to step since all the studs were covered with blown insulation and one of the guys ended up putting his feet on the sheetrock, losing his balance and falling through the attic floor straight down into the bedroom. In other cases where you need to service one of the systems in your attic, a service professional will have to move/vacuum some of the blown-in insulation in order to have better visibility and complete his task. Once that has been done, it will be impossible to bring the insulation back to its original state, and in many cases the service professional will leave you attic with uneven, damaged insulation, lacking the R-value it previously had. Unfortunately for you as a homeowner, there is not much you can do to prevent it, because it will be crucial for the professional to complete the repair.

2. Batt insulation helps keep your attic storage friendly.

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If you have a spacious attic you might want to store items like boxes, suitcases and Christmas decorations. Batt insulation will help you to keep your items clean, safe, and easily accessible.

3. Batt insulation is more effective over the life of the building.

It is true that blown-in insulation is considered to be more effective as a thermal barrier, however, this effectiveness is only temporary and will not last for the life of the building. Most blown-in insulation materials will settle and lose R-value over time. Cellulose, which is one of the most popular insulation materials used today, has the tendency to absorb water over time and will cause the insulation pieces to bond. This will have a direct negative effect on the effectiveness of the insulation.

4. Batt insulation is better for treating rodent activity (past or current).

If you have rodent activity we highly recommend you not to install blown-in insulation. It is easier for rodents like mice, rats, squirrels and raccoons to nest in blown insulation and its harder for you to identify and fix the issue. Blown-in insulation will make it harder to install a baiting station and find access points that are naturally created by rodents when trying to find shelter and warmth inside your attic insulation. It will also be two times more difficult and expensive to treat blown-in insulation that was affected by rodents than treating batt insulation and this is why- let’s take a scenario in which only a small part of your insulation got damaged. With batt insulation it will be easy to identify and replace the damaged part. You can even do it yourself on a sunday. If rodents damaged your blown-in insulation its will be impossible to replace only a small part and you will be required to get professional help. You will need to hire a company who specializes in insulation removal and has a heavy-duty vacuum and insulation machine. In many cases you will end up replacing all of your attic’s insulation spending thousands of dollars.

atticareusa.com - How to Choose the Right Insulation Material for Your Home - Atticare

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