Greenest Insulation Blog

The news from the NAHB 2012 International Builder Show is the economy is improving, real estate will follow and energy efficiency will drive new home sales. In general, the mood was cautiously optimistic from builders we spoke with to vendors visited at the trade show to speakers and publications distributed.

Here are a few highlights and our impressions from attending three days at the IBS.

The Economy & Housing
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was the featured speaker. He outlined all the reasons why housing has been a drag on the economy rather than pulling the county out of recession as in previous economic downturns. Then he ran down the list of actions he sees that could lead to a swifter recovery of the housing market. You can see a replay of his comments at the NAHB Website.

Green Building & Energy Efficiency
McGraw Hill Construction issued its Green Home Builders and Remodelers Study. The report predicts green homes will gain market share over the next few years to between 29-38% of the market by 2016. They estimate that could be a $87 – $114 billion industry. Driving this demand, according to the study, will be homeowners’ desire to reduce their energy bills. (See a preview and download the free two-page fact sheet on the company’s website.)

Insulation
On that note, the tradeshow had a long list of exhibitors in the “Insulation” category. There was a bit of “green washing” with products such as foam making some pretty lofty “eco” and recycled content claims. But it was encouraging to see most of these insulation oriented booths filled with attendees asking questions and taking information. CIMA member Applegate Insulation was on hand to spread the good word about the benefits of using cellulose insulation. Hopefully more builders will begin to offer the greenest of the green cellulose insulation as a standard item. Interest is clearly there at the homebuyer level. Builders could benefit from specifying an energy saving product that is truly green with up to 85% recycled content. It would be a great way to differentiate new homes from the continued high resale inventories also predicted to grow as another wave of foreclosures occurs in 2012.

It’s not really hard to determine whether an old home needs new attic insulation. If there is room enough to get a look in the attic it’s pretty easy to tell. Recently we purchased an historic 1940′s era home for use as an office.

Old batts had settled and deteriorated.

Going in it was clear the property needed renovation. A look in the attic confirmed a major upgrade item would be insulation. The old fiberglass batts had settled well below the tops of the joists and the overall coverage was providing limited insulation (RValue) at best. This also provided an excellent opportunity for me to personally experience the retrofit insulation process from a consumer perspective. Here’s a recap of that experience:

Selecting Insulation and Installer:
My goal was to increase the insulation to R-30 for long-term energy savings and to obtain a rebate from the local utility company.  The best options were to add another layer of fiberglass batts or to have fiberglass or cellulose blown in. I decided to blow in insulation. It would be more expensive but provide much better coverage and help to control air infiltration. I obtained bids from three reputable insulation contractors and was surprised to learn that their was no difference in price between cellulose and fiberglass. After reviewing references on each I select the mid-priced bidder and chose cellulose for it’s environmental benefits and excellent insulating characteristics.

Preparation:
Once the job was scheduled it was time to take a harder look in the attic. It was important to inspect and make any repairs before almost 10 inches of cellulose insulation was blown over the old batts and everything else. I suited up in protective gear (their was quite a bit of “fiberglass dust” from the existing batts in the attic) and cleared out old items, shored up A/C ducts and made other minor repairs and preparation. Then, prior to installation day I also covered the just-restored original wood floors with 6mil visqueen. The attic access was in the bathroom ceiling accessible via a long hallway from the front door.

After Cellulose Insulation Install

Installation:
My insulation contractor did an excellent job.  Their three-man crew closed off the doorway between the hall and bathroom with more visqueen. Then they carefully ran their blower hose through an opening and up into the attic. The job took about three hours and 40 bags of cellulose insulation for my 1,030 square foot house. There was no spilled cellulose and surprising very little fiber dust. A quick run of the vacuum in the bathroom was all the clean up required.

Cost & Outcome:
My cost after the rebate was $410.00. It will be a few months before I can compare utility bills but I feel this was an excellent investment in my property. We have already noticed the house is much quieter and the inside air temperature is more stable. Overall, after just a few weeks, the living environment has clearly improved.

Maybe it’s time to look in your attic. If you haven’t recently it probably will raise questions. Leave them in the Reply box below and we’ll try to provide answers.  Have your own insulation story? Share it in the Reply Box with our readers.

(Jim Doyle works with CIMA Executive Director Dan Lea to write and edit the Greenest Insulation Blog. His office referenced in this story is in Jacksonville Florida.)

A recent article from the Kansas City Star notes “The payback period for insulation is quick, too, according to Consumer Reports, and it keeps your home comfortable year-round. With the tax credit, insulation starts paying back in a year or two.” Read more

The writer unfortunately left out the concept of choosing a green product to obtain that savings while also helping to save the planet by using a recycled material.

This post from the WellHome.com blog gets it right–home and building owners have many options beyond the products backed by huge companies with national advertising budgets when it comes to insulation.  (We also agree with placing cellulose insulation at the top of this listing for several uniquely green insulation products. Not sure exactly how “green” a foam product can be though?) Read more

We here at the Greenest Insulation Blog often sit and scratch our heads when we read the many stories on insulation that tout the latest trendy insulation products while totally missing the opportunity to include green alternative insulations–many of which like cellulose insulation come from recycling waste materials.

Have a theory on why pink and white seem to draw more attention than green when it comes to articles on insulation? Join the discussion with a reply below.

Evergreen Home Performance technician Nick Wheeler finished the week upgrading the Knox County Courthouse with tons of cellulose insulation to make the building more energy efficient. Then over the weekend he demonstrated another type of energy efficiency placing 9th in the Philadelphia annual marathon. The company specializes in retrofitting homes to be more comfortable and efficient, and does several municipal projects each year as well.

Read more about Wheeler’s story here.

In the gridlocked congress there is actually one piece of legislation that seems to have good bipartisan support.

The SAVE Act: Sensible Accounting to Value Energy [S. 1737]

SAVE would:

• help revive housing
• stimulate the overall economy
• encourage energy efficiency
• and by some estimations create over 80,000 new jobs and save $1.1 billion in annual energy bill savings

See this link for an excellent recap on this critical piece of legislation that should be passed in 2012. The Greenest Insulation Blog encourages everyone to contact their legislators to support passage of the SAVE Act.

Washington, DC– CIMA member National Fiber sponsored two homes in 2011′s Solar Decathlon: Middlebury College and Parsons The New School for Design/Stevens Institute of Technology.

National Fiber’s sponsorships included the donation and shipment of product, on-site technical training and installation assistance, as well as marketing and PR support. National Fiber also assisted in the construction of cellulose insulation wall-cutaway displays to aid the students’ on-site educational presentation of how the product works. Four National Fiber staff members traveled to Washington DC to oversee the representation of cellulose insulation, and to research and assess the competition as a whole.

The 2011 winners were announced on October 2. The small liberal arts college Middlebury finished fourth receiving a distinguished Honorable Mention, no small feat against engineering schools from Purdue and other powerhouse universities around the world. Their entry prominently displayed the benefits of cellulose insulation in the design. The school’s house was featured recently on PBS Nightly Business Report. Continue reading →