Polystyrene Foam Insulation - A Common Form Of Insulation

Polystyrene foam insulation is common in construction these days. New houses and other buildings use the substance to insulate the walls and floors. There are other products, such as fiberglass, cellulose, etc that are better insulator, however these products are far more expensive and therefore only used occasionally. Polystyrene foam insulation is popular because of its relative cheapness and its ability to repel cold and heat - effectively keeping a room temperature constant. Anyone building their own home is advised to use extrude polystyrene board to insulate walls and floors. By doing this electric and heating bills will be surprisingly cheaper.
     
The R-value of a house or other construction is its thermal resistance and this value system is used in the building industry to govern the safety of a building. Polystyrene foam insulation has a high thermal resistance level making it a popular choice with construction companies. As mentioned above, however, fiberglass and other products have a much higher resistance than polystyrene. Most of us associate polystyrene with the white material that is found in packing cases – the material that protects our new DVD player, etc. We also drink from polystyrene cups, straws, and so forth and little thought is given to the material’s insulation properties. Years ago, in Japan, hamburger king McDonald’s, placed hamburgers in polystyrene containers in order to keep the burger warm. Today, however paper containers have replaced the polystyrene. Indeed, there are many products today that are insulated in polystyrene. 
      
Polystyrene board comes in many shapes and sizes and the packing case version is just one of many. Most people associate polystyrene foam insulation board with the same stuff that packs the aforementioned DVD player. It is, of course, entirely different in looks, weight and shape. With that in mind, if you’re about to move house and are lacking the bubble wrap to insulation the plasma TV, ripping out the walls and using some of the building’s insulation, won’t work.
      
Aside from its relative cheapness, polystyrene foam insulation is also used in construction because of its lasting qualities. In short, polystyrene doesn’t bio-degrade – well it does but the process takes about 500 years. It is for this reason it is considered an environmental hazard. One of the only methods in which to dispose of polystyrene is to burn it at very high temperatures. Throwing a chunk into your living fire could quite possible harm you – don’t do it.