If you thought Styrofoam was only for making the disposable cups for your office's water cooler, you're wrong. In fact, that's not even true Styrofoam, it's just a similar material that has borrowed its name because it's similar in manufacturing process. The real thing is a blue tough material that's popularly used for insulation.

Proper insulation is vital for your home for a number of reasons. It can help you keep the heat in, and the cold out in the winters. It also prevents water seepage, and if you're in an area where water freezes in winters, Styrofoam insulation can prevent water from freezing in your pipes. If you're living in an area where it snows in winters, and the temper drops down considerably, then you cannot do without home insulation.

Styrofoam is a brand name of Dow Chemicals for the foamed Polysterene that it developed in the 1940s. The product gained immense popularity among constructors and builders for its sturdiness and insulating properties. Styrofoam insulation is a low conductor of heat, it is light-weight, can be easily carved into different shapes, and has low water absorption. All these properties make it a perfect insulation material.

Styrofoam is also immune to the effects of weathering that affects many other insulation materials. That gives it a very long life, and its light-weight properties make it easy to install and to carry.

If you're looking for home insulation, there's hardly a better product than Styrofoam. The best thing is, it's available conveniently from any materials store. You can buy Styrofoam in sheets of different thicknesses and sizes. There are separate products developed for floor insulation, loft insulation, roof insulation, basement insulation, etc.

Styrofoam panels on your wall can bring down your heating costs substantially. They are fire and termite resistant, and so are a safer insulating material than wood. There's also no smell from Styrofoam so it's neutral on the senses.

Another positive thing about Styrofoam is that it's an environment friendly. Styrofoam foam is made using Carbon-die-oxide, and confirms to the requirements of strict global warming code. It's also recyclable, and can be used again and again. So if you're a responsible and eco-friendly person, this is the insulation material of choice for you.

The Styrofoam sheets from Dow chemicals is available in different varieties for different purposes. The most popular are Roofmate, Floormate, and Perimate. The Floormate product is specially designed sturdy material suitable for floor insulation. The product can be installed both below or above the concrete slabs. If installed above, it helps in heating the area faster, and when installed below, it helps in retaining the heat for a longer period of time.

While the investment in Styrofoam paneling may seem like an extra expense at the time of building the home, the investment pays for itself many times over as the years go by. In these days of rising energy cost, Styrofoam insulation can save you a lot of money in utility bills.