Transcript: Insulation

Mainstream Green
Episode “Insulation”

Alex: Insulation, it keeps your place warm in the winner and cool in the summer. Most people think of insulation as the big rolls of pink itchy stuff but more alternatives exist today than ever before. Green alternatives such as soy-based spray foam and other blown in applications are less toxic and conserve more energy and last a whole lot longer than your father's insulation. My name is Alex Petit and I'm going to show you these alternatives and help you choose which is best for you, right here on Mainstream Green.
This is what is inside your walls, nothing, until you insulate it. Insulating your home to the standards of the Department of energy can reduce your energy bill by 20 to 50%. The golden rule of insulation is to steal your air gaps, the kind of spaces that we are talking about here are the voids between the studs and around the pipes, wiring and duct work. Basically anywhere that air can flow freely from the exterior to the interior of the structure should be sealed like this.
Installation is rated by how effective it is at heat transfer which is its R-value the higher the R-value the more energy efficient is. So you are thinking let's choose not insulation which has the highest R-value so I can say they bunch of money on my utility bills. But there are other factors that come into play.
Here's some fiberglass batting, but this is formaldehyde free which makes it a much better choice for your indoor air quality. It is flame retardant, good at reducing noise transmission, and because of its R-value helps cut down on the energy cost when installed properly. Other batting choices exist that work just as well and are a greener product.
Mineral wool is a recycled industrial product that uses starches to bind it instead of formaldehyde. And there are other recycled batting products as well such as denim. Who would have thought that your old Levi's could help keep the drafts out of your new living room. Another one of the benefits of batting insulation is that it does not have to be professionally installed you can cut it to size and put in place your self, plus it is a cheapest alternative form.
The problem is that he cannot get that perfect air seal, for that you have got to go with the spray foam. Foam must be professionally installed, it expands and fills in behind all the pipes, boxes, plumbing, and conduits that batting just can't do. No matter how well you cut it. So why foam? You say that it is the total package, why that?
Kurt Deruiter: Well with foam there are so many things you can do with foam that you cannot do with other products and one of those things is that foam is they air barrier. It fills in everything, you have got to figure it is going in as a liquid and it is just expanding out three dimensionally at 120 times its volume, so it is coming out very good and it fills cracks very well. You do get your air seal, and with an air seal you get the actual R-value.
Alex: The true R-value.
Kurt Deruiter: You get the true R-value, in other words this wall right here is an R-13, and it is always an R-13. It does not change whenever the cold air from the outside or hot air from the outside mixes with the cold air from the inside it does not change, it is the same.
Kurt: Dollar for dollar how does this stack up?
Kurt Deruiter: You are going to spend more upfront for it, but you are going to save on your energy bills down the road. Your electric bill, you will pay half of what your neighbors are paying.
Alex: So how does foam help make a house green?
Kurt Deruiter: The foam just saves so much energy, and the things that people don't think about, sound control is one. Dust and pollen issues, if you have got allergies you are not going to let the pollens from outside enter so you have; your indoor air quality is going to be greatly increased.
Alex: Hey Matt how's it going?
Matt: Alex good to see you buddy.
Alex: It is good to see you to. Today we are looking at a third type of insulation and I am here with Matt Risinger who is remodeling his family's personal home. So Matt you are insulating today, can you tell me what's going on?
Matt: I am, an exciting day Alex we are glad to be at this point of the project. We are doing a total fill installation, as you can see it is an amazing product the guys have done a really good job.
Alex: Now it seems to be a little bit more days compared to some other insulation that I have seen, can you tell me a little bit about that?
Matt: You know it is a little bit denser, with this product when they fill the cavity fully with this you actually get a R-15 rating, compared to a R-13 that you would see most of the time with a bat type installation, there could be a pipe in that wall or a wire and you wouldn't even know it because that insulation has totally encapsulated it.
Alex: Now what is green about this product for you and your family and your green remodeling of this home?
Matt: Number one is energy efficiency, we want to make sure when we remodel this house that we really make it as efficient as possible, and we really want to bring those heating and cooling bills down to their lowest possible point. And because it is an R-15 as composed to an R-13, we are going to have less heat escaping, or less cold escaping depending on the season.
But then also number two is manufactured in a sustainable way, it has got Green Guard certification and also it is a formaldehyde free product so that I know my indoor air quality is going to be good in this house.
Alex: That is great while I look forward to watching these guys continue and thank you for having us.
Matt: Thanks Alex.
Alex: Good luck with your project. As you can see there are many green options available when it comes to insulation, to bring it all home lets look at the alternatives again. Batting is a reasonable cost effective standard that offers decent efficiency and many new green choices, but batting leaves air gaps.
Foam insulation has the highest R-value and will completely seal the thermal envelope of a structure, but it is also the most expensive. Total fill is relatively inexpensive, offers a higher R-value than batting, but will only fill your air gaps not seal them. It also comes with recycled forms like cellulose. With good insulation you can literally cut your energy use by half.
Again the key to good insulation is sealing your air gaps, and good insulation conserves energy which saves you money. Until next time I'm Alex Petit and this is Mainstream Green.