If you’re going to install insulation at your home, you might get confused about which one to use. However, R13 vs R15 insulation is a common question from homeowners. Therefore, we have come up with detailed information regarding both of these insulations. After reading the article, you will be able to decide which one you should go for.
What is the R-Value of an Insulation?
The r-value of a product indicates the efficiency of resisting heat flow. The higher the R-value is, the more effective it is to resist heat. However, almost every insulation product includes an R-value. Besides, the recommended R-value can go as high as R60.
How to Choose the Perfect R-Value for Insulation at Your Home?
If you think you can go with any R-value, then you’re wrong. Besides, always going for higher R values will also not be an ideal decision. However, the R-value that the insulation in your home requires depends on multiple factors. Some of the factors are:
● Your Location
The weather of your location influences your choice of R values. However, if you live in a cold area, then you will be requiring high R-value insulation. On the other hand, if you live in an area where the temperature is high, you need insulation with a lower R-value.
● Structure of Your Home
Your home structure includes the type of ceiling, level of structure, availability of basement if it’s built on slab or not. Almost all of these factors will determine the R-value.
● Your Budget
Usually, the cost of a higher R-value is higher than the insulation with a lower R-value. So, it also depends on your budget. However, between R13 and R15, there isn’t much price difference.
● How You Heat/Cool Your Home
Different people use different techniques to control the temperature of their houses. So, whether you use a heater, an air conditioner, or a fan, also affects your decision to purchase R-value.
● Where are You Insulating
If you’re insulating on the roof, then you’ll need a higher R-value compared to what you need on floors. However, if you’re insulating on walls, then the required R-value falls in between the previous two.
These were some of the major considerations to choose the R-value of your insulation.
Similarities between R13 and R15
Though R13 and R15 are both distinct products, they have a lot of similarities. That’s because their resistance power is pretty close. However, the following are some of the similarities between these two products:
- Insulation can come as faced or unfaced. Faced insulation comes with a barrier on their head. However, unfaced ones are good for using on top of existing insulations. Nonetheless, both R13 and R15 come in either faced and unfaced.
- Nowadays, most houses have 2×4 walls. However, your wall is not necessarily 4 inches deep. Most of the time, it’s only 3.5 inches. Therefore, both R13 and R15 are an ideal choice for a 2×4 wall.
- Though they have different R values, they offer equal thermal protection. However, you need to use them properly. You’ll find all the necessary guidelines in their user guides.
R13 and R15 are the same in these ways. However, they also got some dissimilarities that determine your choices of insulation. We’ll discuss them in a moment.
R13 vs R15: Which One You Should in Different Situations
So now the question is which one should you use for your work? R13 vs R15, which one is better? Instead of few similarities, there are slight distinct features in them. And these features help you to decide which one you should purchase. However, below we’ve discussed which insulation you should buy based on different features and situations:
1. Efficiency
Energy efficiency is the top consideration when you purchase Insulation. However, Insulation helps you to control the temperature of your home.
From our earlier discussion, we already know that a higher R-value works more efficiently. Therefore, if you’re looking for energy-efficient insulation for your home, then we recommend you buying R15 over R13.
However, the difference in their power is not much. To be honest, it’s almost the same. Therefore, R15 gets the pick here by a slight margin.
2. Pest Control
Insulations are also an excellent way of controlling pests at your home. Besides, many pest control service companies also offer to install insulation to get rid of pests.
However, you need to use some particular pesticides. This will help you to kill spiders and ants in your home with few other insects too. But remember to pick a good pesticide that works.
Nonetheless, it depends on the pesticide you choose. Therefore, you can purchase both R13 and R15 to control pests in your home.
3. Moisture Control
Insulations also have a slight role in controlling the moisture of your home. However, a lot of other factors affect moisture control.
Therefore, you can say R values of an Insulation have very little to contribute to controlling moisture. Hence, again you can pick both R13 and R15 for moisture control.
However, if your house gets damped, it reduces the R-value of the insulation significantly. Therefore maybe R15 is a better choice here. Nonetheless, it doesn’t make much difference.
4. Noise Reduction
If you want to reduce the noise of your home, then insulation is an excellent way. However, they can help reduce both indoor and outdoor sounds. The spray coming out of this insulation helps to reduce noises.
Furthermore, insulations have specific models to reduce noises. Therefore, if you’re looking for high noise control, then you better go for those models. Nonetheless, normal insulations, including R13 and R15, do a decent job.
Therefore, you can use both R13 and R15 for controlling noises. They will provide you similar output.
FAQ
Is R15 Better than R13?
Answer: There isn’t much difference between R13 and R15. However, higher R values offer higher performance. Therefore, in the case of efficiency, R15 is better than R13.
Is there a Noticeable Difference Between R13 and R15 insulation?
Answer: Both R13 and R15 offer almost the same features and results. However, there is a slight difference between them. As R15 holds a higher R-value, it is more resistant to heat flow.
What is the R-value of a 2×4 Wall?
Answer: Most walls are made in 2×4 studs. However, modern walls are not 4 inches deep. It’s half an inch less. Therefore both R13 and R15 are a good fit for a 2×4 wall.
Final Thoughts
So, we hope you’ve found your answer regarding R13 vs R15. However, their R-value is very close to each other. Hence they offer almost the same performance. Therefore, you can go for any of them. Nonetheless, if you ask for our recommendation, we will say go for R15 as it is more efficient.