Specifying Metal Building Insulation

First published in the November 2021 issue of Metal Architecture. Written by David Tomchak, Director of Marketing, Bay Insulation Systems
Not all insulation materials are the same. There are various reasons to use insulation, ranging from keeping cool spaces cool or keeping warm spaces warm, to keeping noise in or keeping noise out, or for fire protection, etc. The best advice we can give is to first understand what you need to insulate (type of building), and more importantly, why you need to insulate it (occupied versus storage versus heated versus semi-conditioned, etc.). For the purposes of this article, we will be focused on fiberglass metal building insulation.
Needless to say, one of the most common uses of metal
building insulation, or reasons to insulate a Metal Building, is to meet the
code requirement for energy usage. In
order to determine what you need, you first have to establish the purpose of
your metal building, as it will help you understand what type of energy
performance is needed. The next step is
to know the Climate Zone for the location of the building, along with the
energy requirements of the local jurisdiction.
Depending on the list of parameters just described, there are many
combinations of R-values, facings and systems to choose from, and there may be
more than one potential solution for your energy requirements. Each potential option will have various
associated material costs, installation costs and lead times. The best advice we can give you is to rely on
your building supplier and your insulation system supplier to help you sort
through the requirements and assist you with specifying the insulation system
best suited to meet your building’s budget and energy needs.
Lastly, ask the manufacturer &/or insulation supplier to provide you with the product specification for the Metal Building Insulation, which should clearly state that the product meets the ASTM C991 Standard for Type I (unfaced Metal Building Insulation) &/or Type II (faced Metal Building Insulation).