|
Home / Home / Home Improvement
Blown-In Cellulose Insulation For Green Homes
By:Christiane Perrin
Maximizing the insulation for your green home is the most important step you can take towards reducing the heating and cooling energy requirements of your home and conserving energy. Many options are available to you, such as fiberglass batt, rigid or blown-in insulation. Let us look at cellulose blown-in insulation, which, in my opinion, is one of the greenest options available today.
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Building Material and Wood Technology, Department of Natural Resources Conservation, considers cellulose insulation a smart choice and recommends its use.
Why Use Blown-in Insulation?
Cellulose blown-in insulation is made of post-consumer, recycled paper, most often newspapers. With the new blowers available today, the insulation can be blown in and compacted to a high density. This will eliminate the settling of the insulation, which is what has happened with blown-in insulation applied 10 or so years ago.
By the way, did you know that fiberglass batt insulation also settles, especially if it was not installed properly, which sadly happens very often?
Blown-in insulation is the best option to make sure that the insulation is applied tightly and continuously around electrical outlets, piping, wiring and ductwork. It can reduce air leaks considerably, compared to having batt insulation installed. All those special boxes you can buy to prevent air leaks around electrical outlets have been developped to fix improperly installed batt insulation.
Doing it right in the first place is better, cheaper and saves you headaches and money in the future. A tight, high R-value insulation will also increase the comfort of your green home, and will minimize the required energy use for heating and cooling. A solar heating system can be sized smaller and will therefore also be more affordable.
Most providers of cellulose blown-in insulation operate within a limited geographical area, because the transportation of the insulation beyond a certain range is not feasible, due to the high ratio of volume/pound of the insulation. This means that you would be fulfilling another critical green component: buy local!
Where would I apply Blown-in insulation?
Besides insulating all exterior walls with blown-in insulation, you can also apply it in the garage ceiling and the attic floor.
Those living in the cold climates are familiar with the dangers of having ice-dams form. The dams form when the attic insulation has gaps and leaks. The heat from the rooms below will escape upwards and melt the snow on the roof. It then freezes again and an ice dam forms. More snow is melted, ice builds up and thaws again. The ice dam grows. The water from the melting ice cannot run down on the roof, because it is blocked by the ice dam. The path of least resistance is through the roof and into your home.
It takes skilled contractors to install batt insulation correctly at the edges where walls, attic and roof framing meet. Often the contractors do not take the time, or do not know how, to prevent gaps and leaks in the batt insulation they apply. Blown-in insulation will reach those nooks and crannies and fill them up with insulation, thereby preventing heat from escaping and ice dams from forming.
Additional Benefits of Blown-in Insulation
Highly pact cellulose insulation inherently also prevents air penetration. Fiberglass batt insulation relies on correctly installed sheathing, gaskets, siding, etc.. Unfortunately these are very rarely installed correctly.
In addition to providing excellent thermal insulation, cellulose blow-in insulation will also provide very good sound proofing between rooms, from noisy pipes, showers and bathtubs. The spaces around bathtub and shower basins can easily be filled with blown-in insulation. Family members coming home late and wanting to take a shower, will no longer wake everyone up when the water runs. Of course, they might still slam the doors.
Insulating the wall between the family room and adjoining bedrooms is another good application of blown-in insulation. You will be able to sleep, while other family members play music, watch TV, and laugh in the family room.
If you have a door to separate the family room, you can turn the thermostat down in this room when it is not used for longer periods of time. With the insulation in between the family room and adjoining rooms, you will not loose heat from the warmer rooms to the cooler family room.
Any room that is only used occasionally, such as guest rooms, rooms for children who are away at college, can be thermally separated from the rest of the house by filling the walls with insulation.
What about Mold?
Cellulose insulation is treated with non-toxic boric compounds to protect it from mold. This treatment also provides fire and insect resistance.
Conclusion
I believe that one of the best options for providing good, lasting, environmentally friendly, non-toxic insulation for your home is to use blown-in cellulose insulation.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: green homes, green insulation, cellulose blown-in insulation, energy conservation
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Christiane Perrin, is a registered professional HVAC engineer with a passion for the environment. She is excited about the building industry going green and wants to support homeowners on their journey to building and remodeling green homes. http://www.greenandsustainablebuildings.com
|
|
| Top Home Improvement Articles |
- 1). Installing Ceramic Tile in a Shower By : Mark J. Donovan
Installing ceramic tile in a shower starts with a proper foundation. The foundation consists of WonderBoard or Durock cement board on the walls and a Shower Pan Membrane Liner in the base of the shower, if the shower floor is to be tiled too.
WonderBoard or Durock cement board, also known as backerboard, are resistant to water and are ideal materials for applying ceramic tiles to high-moisture areas.
|
- 2). Ideas For Kitchen Nooks By : T Agee
For many, the most popular room in the house is the kitchen. If you have a kitchen nook that goes along with that, then you’re lucky. But you may also be stumped for how to decorate your nook. Luckily, there are countess options available to you.
One thing that you will want to do is choose a style for your nook that won’t overwhelm the kitchen itself.
|
|
|
- 4). Vanities Are Not Just Plain Wood Anymore By : T Agee
It used to be that a bathroom sink vanity was a fairly plain piece of cabinetry with doors underneath and perhaps a set of drawers for storage on one side. Not anymore. Homeowner’s today are leveraging all sorts of interesting materials to create a custom vanity.
In fact, one of the most popular bathroom styles these days is to forgo a vanity all together by utilizing old-fashioned pedestal sinks.
|
- 5). Benefit From The Stylish Look Of Vertical Blinds By : Peter Wilson
Every homeowner wants to make his or her property look as good as possible, both inside and out, and part of doing this is to select the right décor. Selecting the right window coverings is an integral part of getting the right look for home, and can make a big difference to the look and feel of any room. The contemporary look of vertical blinds is a valuable addition to any home improvement, and whatever type of decoration theme you have in the room these window blinds can give the perfect finish.
|
- 6). 10 Tips For A Window Coverings Makeover By : Rob Carlton
You cannot stand it. The same old dreary windows that do little to add life to your home. It is time for a change. But, where do you start? How do you keep from making an expensive or embarrassing mistake? In fact, how can you know what you really want?
1.Start with one room at a time.
There may be the temptation, especially when moving into a new home, to decorate all of the rooms at once.
|
- 7). Closet Organizers - Bringing Order To Messy Closets! By : Caroline Smith
Closet organizers are cleverly designed to optimize the use of the space available, and can work wonders at transforming a cluttered closet into a neat and tidy storage place. We all know how annoying it is to have an a closet crammed full of old clothes and to never be able to find what we're looking for. Or when we do find that favorite dress, all too often it's lying in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the closet.
|
- 8). The big surprise with a Sectional sofa. By : Kenneth Langlet
Have you ever had a sectional sofa in your home? If not you are in for a big surprise. The sectional sofa that you can decorate your family living area with is one that is going to complete your style. You can find a sectional sofa that uses plants, animals, that is a solid color that will be made of stripes and even a sectional sofa that will be customized to match your drapes.
|
|
|
- 10). Making A Splash In The Kitchen: Suggestions For Spicing Up Your Backsplash By : Jason Flintstone
If it's true that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, then it should come as no surprise that women want a beautiful yet practical kitchen with all the comforts and amenities the queen of the castle deserves. Let's face it, trendy, healthy meals take time and space, and part of creating beautiful meals means creating a beautiful environment to prepare them in.
|
| New Home Improvement Articles |
- 1). Basement Finishing Ideas For DIY Enthusiasts By : Isabel Baldry
Basements can be a major selling point when it comes to real estate. Many people like having a finished basement for many different reasons. For those with a little DIY knowledge the basement can easily be turned into the best spot in the house.
|
- 2). This Is Why You Should Choose Solar Power By : Bryan Wong
The amount of solar power that the Earth receives from the sun is estimated to be 770 trillion kilowatts or an amount 5,000 times bigger than the sum of all energy resources we are using. You can also profit from this and save money read here how...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 6). Methods to Control Mosquitos By : Gail Metcalf
You need to protect yourself from mosquitoes. When you think about mosquito pest control by netting, you could break it down into individual control and public control.
|
- 7). Kitchen Remodeling from a Tropical Paradise By : Chris Campbell
Having your kitchen remodeled is really no big deal, as long as you do it while your lying on the beach. Preferably a beach on a warm tropical island, with a pleasant trade wind keeping your margarita cool from the oh so scorching rays of the sun.
|
- 8). Get Yourself A Home Improvement Book By : William King
A home improvement book can help you with all of your remodeling needs. A good book will be full of information on how to get the job done right. If you are unclear about how a job needs to be done, referencing it in a book can be a major benefit to you.
|
- 9). Ideas For Kitchen Nooks By : T Agee
For many, the most popular room in the house is the kitchen. If you have a kitchen nook that goes along with that, then you’re lucky. But you may also be stumped for how to decorate your nook. Luckily, there are countess options available to you.
One thing that you will want to do is choose a style for your nook that won’t overwhelm the kitchen itself.
|
- 10). Vanities Are Not Just Plain Wood Anymore By : T Agee
It used to be that a bathroom sink vanity was a fairly plain piece of cabinetry with doors underneath and perhaps a set of drawers for storage on one side. Not anymore. Homeowner’s today are leveraging all sorts of interesting materials to create a custom vanity.
In fact, one of the most popular bathroom styles these days is to forgo a vanity all together by utilizing old-fashioned pedestal sinks.
|
|
|
