Proper insulating leads to decreased energy use and money savings. The newest kinds of insulation are non-toxic, and can seal the home envelope much better than conventional fiberglass insulation.
Concentrate on understanding energy loss pathways in your home and add new high-performing insulation wherever possible.
Energy moves from higher concentration to lower, and from hot to cold. Energy can be lost in four ways, and properly installed insulation can help.
- Leakage: In cold weather we heat our homes, but that supplied heat continually struggles to get out of the warm room and into cooler space, such as the unheated attic, the attached garage, or the outdoors. It escapes via a window or door, an electrical outlet or plumbing fixture. Or can leave a structure by escaping around poorly installed insulation between studs and joists. In hot weather, the reverse happens; outdoor heat, using the same escape route, strives to penetrate the cooler interior of our homes.
- Conduction: Insulation slows the rate of conduction through materials. Heated and cooled air can dissipate through metal. Wrap your ducts and water pipes to your cool air cool keep hot water hot.
- Convection: Wall and ceiling insulation keeps cool conditioned air in during summer, and keeps heated air in during winter. When properly installed and well-sealed, insulation stops the dissipation of conditioned air through the walls.
- Radiation: Roof insulation will block the sun’s radiation from overheating your attic. Attics should be fully insulated, especially if water pipes and ducts travel through them. This reduces utility costs by putting the ducts and water pipes into a less extreme, conditioned area.
The effectiveness of insulation is rated by an R-value. The higher the R-value, the greater the material's ability to insulate. Each inch of fiberglass blanket insulation, for example, provides an R-value of about 3.27. Sprayed polyurethane foam can be rated as high as 6.0 to 7.3 per inch.
There are many new high-performing, non-toxic insulation materials:Research which is best for your needs.
- Recycled Cotton - Treated with borate
- Cellulose – shredded newsprint up to 85% post consumer paper 15% fire retardants,chemicals and additives
- Icycene- Spray polyurethane foam a water- based spray that makes very tight seal
- Soy - Spray foam made with soy oil, recycled plastic and water.
- Fiberglass - lower-Formaldehyde formulation
- Hemp Flax - Mostly hemp fiber with added polyester - uses soda for fire retardant
- Wool insulation -good for lofts, sloping ceilings, walls, suspended floors
Top to Bottom
- Blow-in wool (top right)
- Soy-based foam (top left)
- Wool batt
- Formaldehyde-free fiberglass
- Mineral wool
- Bagged fiberglass
- Recycled cotton
- Non-ozone-depleting polyurethane foam
- Recycled newsprint
Photo: Mark Weiss
