The bottom line is that cellulose can burn but fiberglass will not support combustion.
Is my attic insulation is cellulose or fiberglass.
You can get to the same place with either material.
Loose fill cellulose is relatively inexpensive yet still has an r value of about 3 5 per inch of thickness compared to fiberglass r value between r3 to r4 per inch.
Cellulose forms a dense continuous mat of insulation in your attic.
Pros and cons of loose fill fiberglass attic insulation.
This keeps the air from moving within the insulation and from penetrations between the air conditioned space and the attic.
The trapped air molecules in the insulation are pulled up through the insulation into the colder attic air.
If you check with the cellulose insulation manufacturers association they ll assure you that cellulose is definitely your best choice for insulation.
Loose fill cellulose insulation can settle around and conform to most of the obstructions found in walls and attics.
Assuming your current attic insulation is made from fiberglass and has a value of r 13 you d have to add roughly 10 inches of additional fiberglass to hit r 38.
Or 7 inches of cellulose.
Cellulose has 38 better air infiltration than fiberglass.
This problem has been successfully solved by installing fiberglass batt insulation over the top of loose fill or blown insulation.
Loose fill fiberglass seems to dominate attic insulation in new construction homes and has an r value of approximately 2 5 per inch.
Lighter in weight than cellulose or mineral wool but it settles more than those materials so you ve got to put in a thicker layer to get the protection you need.