Insulating an attic is one of the easiest ways to reduce energy costs and make a home green.
Before the twenty-first century focus on the environment, green was just a color. In 2011 "green" is a catch phrase that describes natural cleaning products, energy saving vehicles and a way of living. Making a house more energy efficient is certainly a green activity. Insulation is one of the easiest and cost effective ways to decrease the energy usage of a home. That means all forms of insulation qualify as green, but some are greener than others. Does this Spark an idea?
Cellulose Fiber
Although cellulose fiber insulation can be blown into an area, you can also use it as a spray on application. Cellulose fiber is essentially newspaper. Its composition is 85 percent recycled material (fluffed up newsprint) and 15 percent borate-based fire retardant. While "borate" might sound like a dangerous chemical, borates are actually natural, mineral-based compounds that are environmentally friendly. Cellulose fiber insulation costs about the same amount as fiberglass insulation, but provides a higher level of insulation.
Cementitious Foam
Cementitious insulation comes as a spray foam. It's manufactured from magnesium oxide cement and water, and it is frothed with air. The materials in the foam are extracted from sea water. Cementitious foam provides a fire-retardant insulation. It resists both mold and pests such as insects or rodents and is also non-toxic. Cementitious foam runs about the same price as polyurethane foam. While its ingredients are greener than polyurethane foam, it provides less than half the insulating effect of polyurethane foam.
Polyurethane
Polyurethane and polyicynene foams are both made from petroleum products and other chemicals. So, in the traditional sense, they really don't qualify as "green" products. The one thing they have going for them is their insulation efficiency. These foams provide more insulation than just about anything else used as insulation. So, the energy savings is basically a trade-off with the non-green qualities of the materials. The delivery substances (water for polyicynene and a non-ozone-depleting chemical for polyurethane) are environmentally friendly.
Plant-Based Foams
Sort of the middle-ground between chemically based polyurethane foams and more eco-friendly options, there are some polyurethane formulations in which some of the chemicals have been replaced by ingredients derived from plants. Since polyurethane is made from petroleum products, as oil prices rise, polyurethane foam becomes more expensive, but the hybrid formulations are more resistant since there is less oil in their formulas. The plant materials are derived from such crops as sugar cane and soybean oil.
Tags: polyurethane foam, about same, Cementitious foam, derived from, environmentally friendly
