We have recently received a lot of questions about the resistance to loss of heat that carpet padding can provide. With winter in full blast, many homeowners are looking for ways to heat their homes efficiently and to hold that heat in. Depending on the type of carpet cushion used with carpet, thermal performance can vary significantly.

To easily differentiate the thermal performance of carpet padding and other products that serve as insulation in a home, they are given an R-value. The higher the R-value, the better carpet padding will perform to insulate your home. Rubber padding has some of the lowest R-values (often around .2-.7) whereas bonded urethane foam and prime urethane carpet padding have R-values between 1 and 3. For means of comparison, standard fiberglass insulation used in walls generally has an R-value slightly above 3 per square inch. For example, fiberglass insulation that is 3.5 inches thick would have an R-value around 11. While carpet padding is nowhere near as effective in insulating your home as wall insulation, it does play a significant roll and should not be ignored in climates where insulation is crucial.