Insulation Pros and Cons: Mineral Wool vs. Fiberglass vs. ...

When it comes to insulation, there are a few options available to help you keep your home or business more comfortable and energy-efficient during extreme weather. Among these are batts or blankets, which are placed between studs or posts in a structure, then covered over with some type of hard wall surface, such as drywall or paneling. The materials available for these batts include mineral wool and fiberglass as the most common varieties.

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A third option that is very popular is blown-in cellulose insulation. This type of insulation requires a blower that uses air pressure to push the material through a hose into an opening in the wall to place the insulation properly. But which of these there options is best for your situation? Here&#;s a quick look at the benefits and drawbacks of all three types of insulation.

Mineral Wool Insulation

In many ways, mineral wool is a superior insulation product. It has a higher R-value per inch compared to fiberglass, about a 22-37% higher R-value. It contains 70% recycled material, making it a greener product than fiberglass at 20-30% recycled material.. With a density over three times that of fiberglass, mineral wool has superior sound-deadening properties. The stiffer batts don&#;t tend to flop over as easily as fiberglass, making it easier to put in place, and they don&#;t require staples or wire to keep them in place. It&#;s hydrophobic, so it won&#;t absorb water or encourage the growth of mold and mildew. Mineral wool is also very fire resistant and can act as a fire stop.

However, like many building materials, mineral wool also has its drawbacks. It tends to be more expensive than fiberglass, often between 25-50% higher in cost . Because it is more unusual, it&#;s not available in as wide a range of sizes as fiberglass and is almost never available in a paper-faced format. Because it&#;s denser, it&#;s also heavier, which can make it more ungainly to handle during ceiling installations. Its dense nature requires the use of a serrated bread knife or wood saw to cut batts down to size, and it&#;s very difficult to find in a loose-fill format.

Here&#;s a quick overview of the R-value you can expect from different depths of mineral wool batting:

• For 2×4&#; R13 to R15
• For 2×6&#; R21 to R23
• For 2×8&#; R30 to R32
• For 2×10&#; R38

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Mineral wool insulation is a building material used in construction to thermally insulate the building envelope as an alternative to fiberglass insulation. Builders realize the benefits of mineral wool insulation over fiberglass in several areas, including:

• Higher R-Value

• Better Acoustic Blocking

• Superior Fire-Resistance

Like fiberglass, mineral wool typically comes in batts, but carries a little more stiffness and dimensional stability than fluffy fiberglass batts or rolls.

What is Mineral Wool Made From?

The minerals in mineral wool can come from volcanic rock as a raw material source. Another common raw material used to make mineral wool is called slag, a byproduct of molten metal production. Slag is a mixture of impurities and flux that escape the molten mixture during the melting process.

The raw materials in mineral wool are spun into fibers, glued, pressed, and formed together&#;to create cotton candy-like wool batts that can be installed in areas of the building envelope, like the cavities between studs in a stud wall.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Mineral Wool Insulation

When selecting the right type of insulation for your project, it&#;s important to weigh the pros and cons of each material. Let&#;s cover the advantages and disadvantages of mineral wool insulation.

Installation

Mineral wool is stiffer than fiberglass, which makes it easier to cut with precision and install to fit a space perfectly. On the other hand, since the material is much more dense than fiberglass, it is also much heavier. This can make the installation process a little more challenging due to the added weight of the material.

Thermal R Value

In terms of insulating value, mineral wool carries an R-value of just above R4 per inch, meaning that it requires 3.5&#; to achieve R15. It is an improvement over fiberglass, which carries an R-value of under R3 per inch, for an R13 at the same thickness of 3.5&#;.

When space matters, mineral wool carries a slight edge on thermal performance over fiberglass with the added benefit of enhanced sound blocking. However, there are other insulation options on the market today that provide significantly higher thermal insulating values than mineral wool.

Price and Availability

Mineral wool is more expensive than fiberglass and it can be more difficult to procure with fewer options available at local contractor supply warehouses. However, mineral wool can be tailored during the manufacturing process to meet specific needs and is available in various options, including:

• Soundproofing

• Fire-resistant

• Fire and Sound

• Increased Thermal Performance

Other types of insulation can introduce additional properties, but it&#;s generally the facer that is changed rather than the insulating material itself. Mineral wool is unfaced.

An Alternative to Overcome the Disadvantages of Mineral Wool Insulation: Polyiso

The disadvantages of mineral wool include price, availability, lackluster thermal performance, and limited installation applications. If you&#;re looking for an alternative to mineral wool, polyiso is a valid consideration. Unlike mineral wool, polyiso is a rigid foam insulation&#;so it is both lightweight, and easy to work with.

Polyiso comes in boards that can be cut to fit by hand. The modular sizing makes installation fast and easy, to decrease your cost of labor. Polyiso is also widely available from manufacturers in various thicknesses ranging from ½&#; up to 6&#; and it can be doubled up in multiple layers to meet thermal R-values with ease.

Polyiso outperforms mineral wool in thermal performance with a steady R6 per inch for polyiso. That means it only requires 2.5&#; of polyiso insulation like Rmax Durasheath® to meet R15, while it takes 3.5&#; of mineral wool.

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