Green & Earth – Jan/Feb 2009

From Pink to Green: Revelations in Insulation
By Charles Haynie

Tampa’s Urban Corridor (UC) is awash with beautiful houses that were constructed nearly 100 years ago. Back then, the days before home insulation and air conditioning were exceptions – not norms – these Bungalows, Arts & Crafts and Victorians were designed and built to maximize natural ventilation to help regulate the temperatures of their living spaces. The concept was as common sense then, as it is outdated today.

While nearly every UC home now has some form of A/C installed (be it a window unit or central heat & air), the same is not true when it comes to insulation. The reason for this is unclear, but with the green movement (and the cost of electricity) on the rise in Tampa, many UC homeowners are discovering the value and benefits of insulating their houses’ walls, attics and even floors.

According to Warm Magazine, installing insulation in an average-sized home can save a family up to 40 percent on their cooling & heating costs. Or to put it another way, a non-insulated home loses its owners about 40 cents out of every dollar they spend to keep room temperatures comfortable. Based on these figures, within five years of insulation installation, the family will recoup their spend.

If you are planning on using the area’s cooler winter months to tackle a hot attic insulation project, you’re likely to see some surprising, new products when you pick out supplies. This is because insulation doesn’t just come in pink anymore ... it now comes in green.

Standard Insulations
Perhaps the two simplest and most economical types of insulation are rolls of fiberglass (aka itchy, pink stuff) and air-blown cellulose.

Fiberglass: Itchy, pink stuff that’s very effective and hard to beat for its price (about $.07 an inch). It covers well in homes that have fairly open attics and is installed simply by unrolling each batt (i.e., roll) between the beams of the ceiling, walls and floor.

Cellulose: Shredded recycled material (e.g., newsprint) that’s manually air-blown into the nooks, crannies and open spaces via a special machine (that can be rented at many major hardware stores). Cellulose is priced the same as fiberglass – but unlike the pink stuff, it tends to matte down over the years and can lose some of its effectiveness.

Extreme-Green Insulations
There are many extreme-green insulation options gaining popularity, with two garnering particular attention for their eco-friendliness. The first is made from what you eat; the other from what you wear.

BioBased® Insulation: Made from soybeans, this spray foam is very effective at insulating open and obstructed spaces. The foam fills gaps and also acts like a noise barrier (helpful when living near busy city streets). It comes in a variety of densities and – depending on the one you choose – a relatively thin coat may provide more insulation effectiveness than the bulky, standard alternatives. It’s important to note that BioBased Insulation is not a DIY project, but a quick Google search will reveal many local companies that provide the product and service.

Recycled Denim Insulation: If there’s such a thing as “flashy celebrity” when it comes to today’s insulation market, it’d have to be cotton insulation made from recycled denim blue jeans. It and its green aspects have gotten a lot of attention from the press and the Hollywood elite. (It can be found in the homes of many movie and television stars, such as Ed Begley, Jr. (Pineapple Express) and Adrian Grenier (HBO’s Entourage).

There are a few brands of denim insulation (UltraTouch is one), but each is basically the same. They all come in cushy blue rolls that can be easily installed by most DIY-ers. (Rolled out like fiberglass, minus the itching.) It also provides similar, per-inch insulation effectiveness as the pink stuff.

As it seems to be with most products that are better for the environment, denim and soybean-based insulation are a little pricier (15-20+ percent) than the standard options. This means you may undergo a little more pain in the pocket for the initial purchase and install. But, if you find these green choices a little out of your budget, it’s important to remember that – based on its virtue of saving energy – any insulation is green insulation … and far better than none at all.


About the Author
Charles Haynie is a mechanical engineer and eco-friendly furniture builder. He is always happy to discuss sustainable design at Tampa Street Market (www.TampaStreetMarket.com), a green furniture and retail shop he owns and runs with his wife, Amy.


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Read More at: www.New HeightsMag.com