Insulation Advice & Green Building Insights

Spray Foam and Metal Buildings

Insulation Tips

To foam or not to foam. Why you might choose to use spray foam inside a metal building even though the interior is not heated or cooled.

One of our frequently asked questions is whether there is a benefit to spraying two or three inches of foam on the inside of a metal building, even though it is not going to be heated or cooled. The answer may surprise you.

Savings or Comfort?

Are you looking for savings or comfort? If a metal building is going to be air-conditioned (cooled) or heated, then we expect the building to be insulated. It is our job to help you save money by offering the best insulation possible. However, sometimes savings is not the key reason that you decide to buy spray foam insulation. Sometimes, it all comes down to comfort.

Baby It’s Hot in Here!

If the temperature outside is 100°F, then the outside skin of your metal building is going to be around 150°F. It won’t take long before the radiant heat from the metal skin radiates to the inside of the building.

Insulate with Spray Foam!

If you have high traffic in your building, or you plan to leave the doors open to allow large equipment to be moved, you may opt to not condition the structure. You may think it is a waste of time. But when you insulate the building on the inside, especially with spray foam, you create a radiant barrier— a barrier between the heat source and your living space.

In the south, for example, the inside temperature will remain around 100°F during the hottest part of the day, even after the sun goes down. The temperature will be pretty close to the outside roof deck. If you didn’t have that radiant break on the inside walls and underside of the roof deck, the radiant heat would come off of the metal and heat the space. Thus, you would get a hotter environment inside than the temperature outside because of the radiant load coming off of the roof deck.

You see this happen a lot inside attics, metal buildings, workshops, etc., where you don’t get consistent conditioning. If you have a radiant load that is building up and a surface that gets really hot, then it radiates some of that energy to the air inside the space.

If you have insulation questions, check out our Frequently Asked Questions page or contact us. We would be happy to help you!

Got Cobwebs? Air Is Coming In!

Home Maintenance Tips

Did you know that spiders make cobwebs in the draftiest areas of your home? That is because it gives them the best chance of catching a flying insect. Got cobwebs? That means air is coming in the house. Moreover, you can use the cobwebs to find where the drafts are!

Tons of Cobwebs

During a recent visit to a potential customer, The Green Cocoon team was shocked to see how many cobwebs there were (see photos below). We have never seen that many cobwebs in a basement, and the basement isn’t even that old!

Time to Insulate!

“Combined with improvements to insulation and the heating/cooling system, air sealing improves your comfort, increases indoor air quality, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by reducing your energy use. It’s called “home performance.” (The Climate Center)

In conclusion, if you have cobwebs in your basement or anywhere in your home, contact us and we will help you eliminate the incoming air problem.

The Green Cocoon - Insulation against cobwebs

Does Spray Foam Damage Roof Shingles?

Home Maintenance Tips

Has anyone ever told you that spray foam insulation will damage your roof shingles and void your warranty? Guess what? They are wrong!

Founded in 2007, The Green Cocoon has more than 14 years of experience; insulating attics. As a result, we have heard many stories about shingles. But, the biggest fear is that your roof shingles will be damaged by spray foam insulation. Consequently, we are helping alleviate homeowners’ fears by showing them the benefits of having spray foam insulation.

Is Spray Foam Bad for Shingles?

One of the biggest fears people have is that spray foam will make shingles curl because they overheat. This misconception came about when people believed insulation was a heat source and were concerned about having a “hot roof.” In actuality spray foam is a barrier between two areas of different temperatures, for example, your attic space compared to your snowy roof.

Photo courtesy of RetroFoam of Michigan

If you don’t know the term “hot roof,” I’m sure you’ve heard of an unvented attic. If your roof deck has been insulated, that means your attic space is now part of your home’s conditioned space. This method of insulating the attic can actually be good for your roof because it can help prevent ice dams.

The Florida Solar Energy Center did a study a few years ago during the peak summer months in Florida—a state that gets much hotter than New England—measuring the temperatures of roof shingles above an attic with a radiant barrier. Depending on the color of the shingles, the study found the shingles peak temperatures were between 2- and 5-degrees Fahrenheit higher than the temperature of shingles in the same conditions without a radiant barrier.

What this study means is that you can insulate the roof deck of your home with foam insulation without any adverse effects to your shingles. Foam insulation creates thermal resistance, which is keeping the hot air out during the summer and the cool air inside.

Insulating Your Attic with Spray Foam

Now that we’ve shown you the research that your shingles won’t curl or get ruined with spray foam insulation, you might be curious about the benefits of foam insulation in your attic.

If you have general questions, check out the FAQ section of our website. For more in-depth questions, contact us and we would be happy to answer any them.

Second Annual Food Drive and Ruck Walk a Success!

Giving Back, News and Awards

On Saturday, April 24, The Green Cocoon (TGC) partnered with Integrated Fitness of Dover (IF) for its second annual Food Drive and Ruck Walk to support the Dover Food Pantry. With the help of the Integrated Fitness coaches and the community, over 140 lb. of non-perishable food items was collected!

A Perfect Distance for All to Walk

The donated food was carried in backpacks by The Green Cocoon staff, IF coaches, athletes, and friends to the Pantry. The two-mile trek from the IF Studio to the Dover Food Pantry was the perfect distance to challenge most—3.4 miles.

Food-Drive-Ruck-Walk-2021-Green-Cocoon-Insulation

“We were thrilled to be a sponsor of this year’s event,” said Jim Materkowski, President and Owner of TGC. “Getting donations from the community here in Salisbury to help people in the Dover, NH area, shows how much people care about others.

Thank You to the Community

Thank you to the employees who walked in the Ruck Walk and who donated food. A special thank you goes to Jarrod Curtis of Verizon Wireless for the huge donation of food.

Candace Lord, co-owner of IF said, “Although the numbers were a little lower this year due to the pandemic, we still donated a lot of food to a great cause. We are looking forward to having this event again next year!”

A tentative date has been set for Saturday, April 23, 2022. Watch for confirmation on our Facebook page.

HEATLOK HFO Pro Completes NFPA 285 Fire Testing

News and Awards

Huntsman Building Solutions, a global leader in high performance, sustainable building envelope solutions, recently announced that its HEATLOK® HFO Pro Closed Cell Spray Polyurethane Foam insulation has successfully completed NFPA 285 fire testing for metal and aluminum wall assemblies. HEATLOK HFO Pro is a professionally spray-applied continuous insulation solution which now passes the NFPA Standard Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Exterior Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components.

The Green Cocoon shows HEATLOK HFO Pro fire test. Photo courtesy of huntsmanbuildingsolutions.com — Photo courtesy of huntsmanbuildingsolutions.com

“HEATLOK HFO Pro spray foam acts as a combined air barrier, vapor retarder, water barrier and thermal insulator in one,” says Doug Brady, vice president of global innovation and product management for Huntsman Building Solutions. “Already a standout insulation system that optimizes the building envelope, it now boasts this key fire safety certification which will undoubtedly advance its marketability even further among builders, architects, contractors and building owners.” Read more.

New Report on Environmental Impacts of Spray Polyurethane Foam

Insulation Tips

The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) recently published a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Use Phase Analysis report. The report evaluates the environmental impacts and performance of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation. It compares the environmental impacts of spray foam insulation as compared to fiberglass insulation, specifically measuring cumulative energy demand and global warming potential for homes insulated in different US climate zones.

Three Homes Tested

Three homes were equally insulated according to 2018 IECC requirements in their respective climate zones using fiberglass as a baseline and various types of spray polyurethane foam insulation. What was the conclusion?

SPF Insulation Can Reduce Carbon Emissions

After reading the report, our biggest surprise was how SPF insulation can reduce carbon emissions! “The report shows the reduction in carbon emissions by using SPF insulation instead of fiberglass in a single home is the equivalent of removing 14 to 23 automobiles from the road for an entire year.”

Read the entire article at sprayfoam.com.

Questions? Contact us and we’d be happy to answer them!

ⁱSprayfoam.com (March 23, 2021) – SPFA Releases Report on Environmental Impacts of SPF

Blogs