Insulation Materials: List, Uses, Pros & Cons

Home insulation is one of the greatest domestic upgrades anyone can bring to their home. Just a combination of wall, floor and loft insulation can reduce your home’s heat loss by a staggering 67%, leading to sky-high energy bill savings, a reduced carbon footprint, and a comfortable home environment for decades to come.

But with all the insulating materials on the market, choosing the right fit for your home can seem daunting. There is no shortage of variety, from cost to efficiency, thermal to acoustic. This GreenMatch UK guide will give you everything you need to know about insulation materials, their best purposes, and how to choose the right fit for your home.

Ready to get your home insulated? Look no further than GreenMatch UK for all your needs. Spend just 30 seconds filling out our online form, and you can receive up to 3 free home-tailored quotes right from our network of trusted installers. No charges or obligations apply. Click the button below to begin!

Of the two main types of insulation, thermal insulation is perhaps the most important for a home's livelihood. These are materials that help your house retain inner temperature, keeping it warm during winter and cool during summer. 

Without proper thermal insulation, your energy system is at risk of working overtime, constantly attempting to make up for the lost heat. This can lead to unnecessarily high energy bills, a huge domestic carbon footprint, and an uncomfortable living environment. 

In terms of popularity, the best thermal insulating material is probably mineral wool, but there’s a broad range of good insulation materials available, each with its price range, efficiency (r-value) and best-fitted purpose. 

Here’s a hypothetical look at what a fully insulated home may contain as an insulation material:

Mineral wool is one of the most popular materials used for insulation due to being budget-friendly, sustainable and versatile. Costing around £13 - £17.5, mineral wool can be found as rock wool or glass wool, made from recycled rock or glass respectively.

Its versatile nature, such as blown insulation, sheets, and batts, allows it to be used in many house insulation projects, such as floors, lofts, and internal (stud) walls. 

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Fibreglass is a material used for insulation that is very similar to mineral wool, in the sense that it can be found as loose fill, sheets, and batts, and has similar thermal insulation properties. At an easy £10 per m2, fibreglass is one of the most affordable insulating materials on the market.

Alongside its versatility, fibreglass is also pretty sustainable, mainly made from recycled glass products and able to be recycled into new fibreglass after use. It’s commonly used when insulating roof rafters, loft floors, inner stud walls and more.

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Cellulose insulation is one of the most affordable and sustainable materials one could come by. Made almost entirely from recycled paper and wood products, cellulose costs around £10 - £12 per m2 of loose fill material. 

Cellulose is typically applied as blown-in insulation, or loose-fill in areas such as lofts, cavity insulation and stud walls, and suspended timber floors.

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Made from polyisocyanurate, PIR boards are rigid insulation sheets that can conveniently be cut to shape and boast exceptional thermal insulation capabilities. Costing around £5 – £15 per m2 depending on material density, these handy boards are often used to insulate roof rafters as loft insulation boards, internal and external walls, and solid concrete floors.

One downside is that polyisocyanurate is a synthetic polymer, making it difficult, energy-consuming and unsustainable to produce and recycle.

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Mainly found as polyurethane foam, this expanding liquid spray foam insulation boasts one of the highest thermal efficiencies available today. Costing a hefty £21.5 or more per m2, it’s also one of the most successful materials in creating an air barrier. 

This versatile foam is suitable for a range of applications, such as floors, insulation for walls, lofts and window and door frames. A downside however is that spray foam is notoriously unsustainable and risks off-gassing harmful toxins and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during and after application.

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Different to thermal insulation materials, acoustic insulation materials are tailored to block and reflect sound from entering or exiting your home, creating a more peaceful home environment. Acoustic materials differ from thermal materials by having a much higher density.

One of the most effective materials on the market today is acoustic cotton wool, high in density and very effective in muffling sound transfer, but there are several other alternatives. 

Cotton wool is considered to be one of the most effective mono materials when it comes to acoustic insulation. Costing just around £10 - £14 per m2, a California State Science Fair study had shown that cotton wool possesses superior qualities when it comes to noise cancelling.

High-density cotton wool is also relatively recyclable, making it a choice for noise-cancelling materials that don’t need discarding.

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Similar to thermal mineral wool, but at a much higher density, acoustic mineral wool is a material which still exhibits thermal properties, but is tailored for noise cancellation. For effectiveness, mineral wool is produced at a high density of 45kg/m3 or more, making it successful in muffling sound waves. 

Acoustic mineral wool generally costs around £13 - £17.5 per m2 but can cost more depending on the material density. Like mineral wool, it is also a relatively sustainable and recyclable material choice.

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Mass-loaded vinyl is by far one of the most effective ways to completely cancel noise transfer from inside and outside your home. Costing around £15 - £50 depending on density, MLV doesn’t just absorb noise, but completely reflects it, making it one of the most effective noise-cancelling materials.

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These specialised building materials are made from a combination of gypsum plaster and other materials such as mineral wool to create a robust and effective sound barrier. Generally costing around £14 - £19 per m2, acoustic plasterboards can easily be behind interior (stud) walls or floors.

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The best type of insulation for homes hinges on several factors, such as your budget, needs, home conditions, existing insulation and many more. Your best bet is to conduct a house assessment with a professional installer to get guidance on what materials would best suit your needs.

Nevertheless, here are some key tips on what to consider when making your decision:

With the sea of materials and installers on the market, finding your right fit can be very daunting. That’s why your best bet is to work with professional insulation installers. To add pressure, not everyone has endless hours on end to spend on research and vetting. Luckily, GreenMatch UK can free you of this burden at the click of a button.

By filling out our simple 30-second online form, we can connect you with up to 3 free home-tailored quotes from our nationwide network of pre-vetted installers. The best part? Our services are completely free of charge and without any obligations. Simply click the button below to begin!