Global Insulation

Report Overview

Insulation Demand Grows Alongside Green Building Goals

As governments enact stricter energy efficiency regulations and end users prioritize lower-carbon construction, demand is rising for insulation materials that deliver both performance and sustainability. This study analyzes how evolving building codes, environmental certifications, and product innovation are shifting global demand – highlighting opportunities for growth in both established and emerging markets.

Key Themes Covered in this Report:

• Governments, businesses, and consumers are increasingly prioritizing energy efficiency to lower energy costs and meet climate goals. This fuels demand for insulation in both new construction and retrofit applications worldwide. Regulations and building codes are tightening, and insulation is a cost-effective way to comply.
• The market is seeing a shift in material preferences due to sustainability goals, health concerns, and performance requirements. New and upgraded products – such as stone wool with improved thermal performance or bio-based insulation materials – are gaining traction, especially in higher-income markets.
• Global construction spending, especially in Asia and other emerging markets, is a major factor driving insulation demand. While mature markets focus on retrofitting and energy upgrades, developing regions are growing quickly due to rising urbanization, housing demand, and infrastructure development.

Featuring 170 Tables & 42 Figures!

In 2025, global demand for insulation totaled $63.7 billion and is forecast to increase 4.9% per year to $80.8 billion in 2030, driven by more stringent energy efficiency guidelines and global increases in building construction activity.

Insulation Moves from Add-on to Essential Component

Energy codes, building performance compliance, and operating costs are making insulation an essential component of construction globally. There will continue to be a growing emphasis on assemblies and applications that deliver dependable performance with minimal disruption. At the same time, demand is broadening beyond the building envelope. Mechanical distribution and equipment-adjacent uses are taking a larger share of attention because they connect insulation directly to reliability and controllable operating outcomes. This creates a more resilient demand profile across construction cycles, since insulation is embedded in a wider set of end uses and maintenance driven replacement needs.

Condensation Control Drives High Value Opportunities

Growth opportunities are increasingly concentrated in applications where insulation is purchased to manage moisture risk. In hot, humid and cooling dominant environments, condensation on ductwork, chilled water piping, and refrigerant lines can drive costly damage and maintenance, with insulation selection driven more by performance than cost. This elevates demand for solutions that maintain continuity through fittings and penetrations, resist moisture intrusion, and perform consistently over time. Critical facilities and continuous operation buildings reinforce this trend because indoor environmental expectation, and asset protection raise the value of higher quality systems and better execution.

Where Suppliers Win: Local Footprints, System Selling, Repeatable Channels

Because insulation is a localized industry, suppliers with regional manufacturing, reliable distribution, and contractor support have an advantage. The best opportunities arise for roof and top floor upgrades that deliver high impact with limited disruption, standardized residential retrofit applications, and mechanical system insulation where owners are increasingly motivated by risk reduction and operating stability. Infrastructure and industrial segments add steady demand through rehabilitation of networks and maintenance-driven reinsulation, favoring providers that can supply durable solutions and application guidance for complex systems.

Across regions, the clearest path to value capture is moving from commodity material positioning toward system level solutions supported by training, installation guidance, and performance documentation that reduces variability in field outcomes.

Global Insulation Report Details

Leading Companies Driving Trends in the Global Insulation

Factors Impacting the Global Insulation Market

In any given year, global demand for insulation is impacted by a number of factors including:

• levels of residential and nonresidential building construction spending
• the types of buildings being built, as single-family houses have considerably more insulation than a multifamily unit, and the amount of insulation per office and institutional building is substantially higher than manufacturing facilities and warehouses
• government efforts to improve housing quality or meet current shortages
• changes to building codes
• energy efficiency regulations
• construction or repair of infrastructure
• appliance, HVAC equipment, industrial equipment, automobile, shipbuilding, and aerospace production

Given the importance and widespread use of these products across several industries, insulation demand volume does not experience high levels of volatility, even during times of economic crisis. Year-to-year volatility in market value is more significant because of fluctuations in chemical prices for foamed plastic insulation, as well as currency effects relative to the US dollar.

Global Insulation Report Scope

This study analyzes global supply of and demand for insulation. Historical data (2015, 2019, and 2025) and forecasts for 2030 and 2035 are provided for insulation demand by material (in dollars and metric tons) and market (in dollars and square meters R-1), net exports (in dollars), and production (in dollars) on a country-by-country basis. Demand in value terms is shown at the manufacturers’ level and excludes distributor and retailer markups.

Materials broken out include:

• foamed plastic
  • expanded polystyrene, including graphite polystyrene
  • polyurethane and polyisocyanurate (e.g., rigid board and spray)
  • extruded polystyrene
  • other foamed plastics (e.g., elastomeric, phenolic, polyolefin, melamine)
• fiberglass (including batts, blankets, loose fill, roof deck, board, and pipe and duct wrap)
• mineral wool (including batts, blankets, board, and loose fill)
• other materials (e.g., aerogels, cellulose, reflective insulation, radiant barriers, perlite, vermiculite, and all other insulation materials)

Granulated mineral wool used in ceiling tiles is not included in the scope of this study.

The major market segments analyzed are:

• residential buildings (e.g., single-family, including manufactured homes, and multifamily)
• nonresidential buildings (including office, retail and lodging, institutional, and industrial buildings)
• industrial and plant equipment (e.g., power generation, oil and gas, petroleum refining, chemicals, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals)
• HVAC/air distribution equipment (including residential, commercial, and heating and air ducts)
• appliances (e.g., refrigerators, freezers, ovens, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers)
• transportation equipment:
  • motor vehicles (cabins, engines)
  • aerospace equipment (fuselages, air ducts)
  • ships and boats (hulls, cabins)
  • railroad equipment (railcars, insulated cars)
• other insulation markets, including nonbuilding construction, packaging, furniture, bedding, clothing, and off-road equipment

Both thermal and acoustic insulation are included in the scope of this study.

The metric measures of thermal value used in this study cannot be converted to English units (those used in the Freedonia Group’s US insulation studies) simply by converting square meters to square feet. The metric version of thermal value defines heat transfer in metric units (watts) and is based on a material sample one meter thick; the English version of thermal value defines heat transfer in British thermal units and is based on a material sample one inch thick.

Taking into account all of the differences in measurement, approximately 16.4 square meters of R-1 value (metric system) is equal to 1,000 square feet of R-1 value (English system).