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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters properly insulate their walls and ceilings, it'll have the CO2-reducing effect of planting 1,538,461 trees.
COCKTAIL FACT
In 1987, insulation-maker Owens Corning was the first company to trademark a color (the pink in its fiberglass insulation).
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home › tip library › Home Insulation
What's keeping Jack Frost from breaking into your home?
The Bite
More than just drywall and two-by-fours, we hope. Fiberglass insulation is the norm, but if you want a greener way to avoid Mr. Frost's bite, eco-insulation's the way to go, whether you're adding to old insulation or starting from scratch.The Benefits
- Eco-friendlier materials. Green options include recycled paper, denim, and plant cellulose.
- Lowering your power bills. Proper insulation can save the average home $245 per year.
- Lowering your emissions. Heating systems emit 1 bil tons of CO2 per year in the United States; the right insulation can chip away at this amount.
- Upping your home's value. According to the Appraisal Institute, resale value increases by more than $20 for every $1 decrease in your annual energy bills.
- Getting cash back. The feds will rebate 10% of the price of your insulation, plus your state may offer additional tax credits.
- Decreasing noise pollution. Insulation minimizes the sound of the garage band or motorcycle next door.
Personally Speaking
Jen installed spray-in insulation in her 100-year-old Bozeman bungalow last spring, greatly reducing heating bills and the volume of her morning alarm: her rooster.Wanna Try?
- BioBased Insulation - soy-based, spray-in foam insulation.
- GreenFiber Cocoon - spray-in insulation made using recycled paper.
- UltraTouch - insulation created from 85% recycled denim fiber.
- U.S. Department of Energy - learn more about the efficiency of the different insulation options.
- Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency - find federal and state efficiency rebates for insulation upgrades.
Oct 22,2007
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Insulated from the World
If you've been reading us for a while, you might know that I grew up in a small little town called Libby, tucked away in the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Montana.
Libby's in beautiful country - all peaks and streams and evergreens - and when I was growing up, one of the town's main industries was mining. What did we mine? A pretty little substance called vermiculite - a golden-streaked shale stone that got puffy when it was heated. A stone that was soft and smooshy? Sounds like awesome insulation to me.
It sounded like awesome insulation to big business, too, and by the time I was born and living in Libby, W.R. Grace had bought the operations and was using the branded Zonolite vermiculite in housing insulation. And as a company town, we used it for other things, too - we rototilled the tailings into our gardens to help with aeration. We built a high school track out of it (nice and soft to run on). My little league fields were surrounded by the stuff.
Little did we know that the vermiculite was loaded with tremolite asbestos or that it was laying the groundwork in our lungs for something called asbestosis - a disease that is killing an amazing number of people in my hometown, a fact means I need to get free asthma tests and chest x-rays every few years.
Whenever people hear this story, they always make a leap - always wonder if the reason I am now spending my days working to make the planet a little healthier stems in part from the fact that I grew up in a town touched by that tragedy.
Truth is, I don't know. I'll never know how much it played into my desire to do what I do today. I actually don't think about it all that much, to be honest. I figure that there are a lot of people all over the world, who are a whole lot worse off than I am (or than the people in Libby are), with shorter life spans and even more terrible diseases. And given the way that people drive here in the Bay Area, I could get hit stepping off a curb long before my lungs potentially give out.
Still, when a tip like today's comes up, I gotta praise the giant strides we are making in the green world.
Eco-insulation? Yeah, sign me up.
-Heather...off to remind myself to replace my insulation with some denim stuff...
Libby's in beautiful country - all peaks and streams and evergreens - and when I was growing up, one of the town's main industries was mining. What did we mine? A pretty little substance called vermiculite - a golden-streaked shale stone that got puffy when it was heated. A stone that was soft and smooshy? Sounds like awesome insulation to me.
It sounded like awesome insulation to big business, too, and by the time I was born and living in Libby, W.R. Grace had bought the operations and was using the branded Zonolite vermiculite in housing insulation. And as a company town, we used it for other things, too - we rototilled the tailings into our gardens to help with aeration. We built a high school track out of it (nice and soft to run on). My little league fields were surrounded by the stuff.
Little did we know that the vermiculite was loaded with tremolite asbestos or that it was laying the groundwork in our lungs for something called asbestosis - a disease that is killing an amazing number of people in my hometown, a fact means I need to get free asthma tests and chest x-rays every few years.
Whenever people hear this story, they always make a leap - always wonder if the reason I am now spending my days working to make the planet a little healthier stems in part from the fact that I grew up in a town touched by that tragedy.
Truth is, I don't know. I'll never know how much it played into my desire to do what I do today. I actually don't think about it all that much, to be honest. I figure that there are a lot of people all over the world, who are a whole lot worse off than I am (or than the people in Libby are), with shorter life spans and even more terrible diseases. And given the way that people drive here in the Bay Area, I could get hit stepping off a curb long before my lungs potentially give out.
Still, when a tip like today's comes up, I gotta praise the giant strides we are making in the green world.
Eco-insulation? Yeah, sign me up.
-Heather...off to remind myself to replace my insulation with some denim stuff...
Biter Comments...
This is probably the best tip there is. Properly insulating your home is one of the best bangs for your buck in both energy efficiency and comfort for your family. Many things come back to this. When insulating, don't forget around your doors and windows. These holes are great losses of heat. Make sure that the cracks around them are filled with spray foam and sealed properly. Make sure to weatherstrip properly. Many people overlook these two steps and you can create a difference for as low as $20.00.
As far as soy-based spray foam shrinking, there are different densities of the product. A lot of people use what is called "Half-pound spray insulation". It contains a lot of air and will shrink over time as the air escapes. Use a "Two-Pound spray insulation". It is denser and has less air so there isn't the shrinkage. The same concept applies to your loose or batting insulation. The higher the value, the better it will work for you if properly installed.
Seeing as I rent for the time being (and most likely for some time to come) I was hoping there are insulation solutions that don't require reconstruction? I'm mainly concerned with the two bedrooms since they get very cold in the winter..
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Ana
Hey Ana - you beat me to it! I also live in an apartment and not only are the walls poorly insulated, the windows are atrocious. Last winter (my first winter) I put plastic film over them and that helped a bit! It was quite scary to see them billowing every time the wind blew! I also share the gas bill with all the other tenants in the building so even though I kept my thermostat down as low as I could tolerate, my gas bills were still very expensive becuase of the other tenants. Some idiot keeps opening the window in the laundry room (all year round) which is adjacent to my son's bedroom. I am forever going there to shut it. Mangement is no help whatsoever.
Anyone out there with ideas on helping to save energy and stay warm for apartment dwellers would be most appreciated!
Would stapling up layers of newspapers on the walls do anything? To heck with appearances - I just want to stay warm!!!! Fortunately, I only have the eastern wall is exposed to the elements; the other three walls are interior walls. I work at home all day, at my computer and setting my thermostat to 66 was about as cold as my fingers could stand it.
You can buy plastic sheeting that you can use to cover the windows with and reduce the chill and your heating costs. Taken care of the polyethelyne sheeting should last a few years. For something more permanant you can have plexiglass cut to size at your local home improvement store and fit that over the windows to give you extra insulation there. You can also pop-off the inside frame and spray foam around the window for better insulation.
Finally there are curtains that will help. They will be advertised as insulating or blackout curtains. Put those up and they will help keep your home warm or cool depending on the season. Open them up during the day for heat and close them at night to keep the cold out during the winter.
Wondering if any green builders out there want to weigh in on SIPS panels (Structurally Insulated Panels) that we have been hearing so much about on our trip around the country. Here are a couple of links for people who want to look further...
http://www.ebuildingsystems.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_insulated_panel
http://www.sips.org/
There is also a new technology for SIPS with concrete blocks that may improve foundation building...being designed by Robbie Jenkins and Rick Felton of Denver:
http://blog.yert.com/?s=sips
I believe if commercial printers will help on making this earth greener, that will be a big help. I googled an article and think you guys may be interested.
http://www.printingcenterusa.com/printing-service-articles/green-printing.html
In regards to the last comment, there is a better company, Greener Printer, that uses ONLY recycled paper and only wind energy, thereby making its carbon footprint pretty tiny.
you can find them at:
www.greenerprinter.com
Yertjulie-I love the SIP concept. My favorites are the ones that use Advantec as a subfloor. I am not sure if they also use it as a the sides too. Advantec can take the weather for 9 months without being enclosed. Great product and I have this for my subfloors. The only thing a SIP manufacturer told me is you can not put recessed lighting in the second floor ceiling because they are against breaking the insulation barrier. This may only be this manufacturer and wonder if this is a rule for all of them?
Ana (nice name by the way...) Tell us more about your cold rooms. North facing? Air leakage from windows? how old is the building? Any opening seen from the outside? Alot of exterior outlets? Wayne had some great suggestions! In addition home depot has this little pad you put inside the outlet that helps to insulate against air coming from the outlet. You would be surprised how cold those outlets can get.
When it starts to get cold, take an incense stick and run it around the room to find drafts. It will blow in the opposite direction when it is near a draft. If you find them, try Wayne's and my suggetions and perhaps you can talk to the landlord about it. Let us know so we can continue to give you amd Ronna more suggestions.
Ronna-what about a heavy rugs hung up on the walls or quilts? You probably can get some nice ones at a flea market or garage sale. Hope this helps.
Wayne, what do you do for a living if you do not mind me asking? I have enjoyed your comments. anna www.green-talk.com
I too, grew up in a small town plagued with environmental baddies flying through the air. I'd actually like to meet someone who's health hasn't been compromised from some sort of similar story. Sigh. Great site, by the way.
There is a fabulous book about Libby called "An Air That Kills" by David McCumber and Andrew Schneider, two award-winning Seattle journalists. It gives a great portrait of the town, the activists in the asbestos fight and government denial of the whole issue. Highly recommended.
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Anna Hackman | October 22, 2007 at 08:46 AM