Agricultural Insulation

Profit margins in farming are generally tight, so it’s important to stack the odds in your favour. If your crops or stock are kept in uninsulated barns, you may be losing out. Make sure none of these precious commodities is lost to extreme temperatures by insulating your outbuildings with spray foam – it’s the best option for agricultural insulation.

Farm buildings are often associated with being cold, damp and dark, especially in the colder months. And this is largely because most barns are not insulated effectively. In these conditions, livestock are more likely to catch infections and spread disease. And if you store machinery the damp conditions, their worth can seriously depreciate.

So whether your farm is arable, pastoral or mixed, insulating your outbuildings is going to save you money long term.

Why Insulate an Agricultural building?

Agricultural building insulation is a must if you want to protect your assets. Many modern farm buildings are made from steel sheets, and as we know, metal has a high thermal value. While steel might be a better insulator than other metals it still offers less insulation than many types of building materials such as timber or stone.

And even when an older barn or farm building is made from materials with a lower u-value, their age often means that their insulation properties have degraded over time. There are some typical problems which can be caused by a lack of sufficient insulation in an agricultural building.

These issues include mildew and mould, condensation, water ingress, large fluctuations in temperature, as well as a loss of heat from inside the building. All these problems almost always cause the farm owner to lose money one way or another.

Insulating your agriculture building is a cost-effective way of lowering your energy costs and protecting your assets.

Let’s look at some of the main benefits:

Save On Energy Costs

One of the main savings provided by insulating your building will be the reduction in energy costs. If you heat any part of your building, insulation will guarantee the retention of that heat for longer. And if you chose to use spray foam insulation you can expect to reduce heat loss significantly and save up to 50% more on your energy bills than with other forms of insulation.

Protects Crops

If you store crops or any sort of feed for your animals, insulating your storage space will mean you are protecting it from frost damage. Spray foam insulation can help with condensation and support the weatherproofing of your farm building. So by insulating, you’ll lose fewer crops to damp or rot.

Regulate The Temperature

Livestock are more susceptible to disease when the space they are in has large fluctuations in temperature. Insulation will help agricultural buildings maintain a more balanced temperature and there are a few benefits to this. One is that livestock will be more comfortable and will possibly be more productive as a result. Another is that you may save on veterinary bills. As well as this the effects on the ambient temperature are felt immediately and happy animals make for a happy farm.

Eradicate Condensation

Buildings with livestock are prone to issues with condensation. Applying a minimal thickness of 30mm of polyurethane spray foam insulation will protect your building from condensation and from the problems it causes.

Adds Soundproofing

Adding agricultural insulation to your barn or building can have a soundproofing effect. This is a bonus if you have livestock or use heavy machinery within the barns. It can stop sound from travelling to neighbouring areas or protect workers or livestock with your buildings from outside noise.

Can Improve Structure Integrity

If you choose spray foam insulation for your agricultural building, you can improve its stability. Because the foam hardens after application, it can help to boost the structure of your building – which is great news for older farm buildings. And because spray foam is resistant to condensation, it can help to weatherise older properties too.

How to insulate Agricultural buildings?

The way to insulate an agricultural building will depend on the type of building you want to insulate or what the purpose of the building is. Any type of insulation is better than none but not all types will be worth the effort or save you money long term.

There are four main types of traditional insulation: loose-fill, batt and roll, reflective, and spray foam. All of these insulation types, except spray foam, are going to require some form of timber frame upon which to staple or mount the insulation. And as many modern barns are made of corrugated metal this can be a time-consuming and expensive process.

Not only this, but barns are typically open to more weather than those used for domestic purposes. And many types of insulation such as fibre or wool can rot when they are exposed to moisture. Even rigid or reflective boards can retain moisture which can be passed into any adjacent timber, rotting it over time. Spray foam insulation has none of these issues which makes it the most viable option for agricultural insulation.

So let’s take a look at why it’s the best.

Best insulation for Agricultural buildings?

Closed cell spray foam is the best type of spray foam to use in metal agricultural buildings, and Open cell spray foam is recommended in agricultural buildings with timber frames. This is due to the open cell spray foam expanding and contracting to allow timbers to breathe naturally, whilst still maintaining high levels of air tightness stopping drafts and preventing heat from escaping through gaps in the external envelope. However, it is always best to get in touch with Spray Foam Tech to confirm it’s right for your property.

Spray foam insulation does not retain moisture and is resistant to condensation making it the ideal treatment for agricultural insulation. And because it is quick to apply, it is by far the easiest way to insulate agriculture buildings.

Traditional insulation can leave gaps through which air can escape reducing the effectiveness of the insulation. Spray foam insulation can expand to up to 100 times its original size and can be sprayed directly onto metal, instantly sealing it. By filling all of the building’s cavities, spray foam insulation can significantly lower the u-value delivering up to 50% greater energy savings compared to other insulation products.

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Agricultural Spray Foam Insulation

Spray foam insulation for agricultural buildings is often the best solution for farm owners or managers when they’re looking at a cost-effective way of insulating their property. This is generally because agricultural spray foam insulation offers so many benefits for both modern and older farm buildings.

Spray foam is a great choice because it adheres to almost any surface making it totally flexible for a range of agricultural applications. Buildings such as silos or grain stores, dairies, livestock or poultry buildings, Dutch barns and for storage buildings for machinery can all be insulated with spray foam.