What Is the Most Eco Friendly Insulation?
Using eco friendly insulation materials can help to protect your home from energy loss while also lowering the emissions generated by heating and cooling equipment.
You may want to consider the following forms of eco-friendly insulation for your home:
1. Cellulose Insulation
One of the most environmentally friendly home insulation materials is cellulose insulation. It’s made up of 80 to 85 percent recycled newsprint, with the remaining 15% made up of borax, boric acid, or ammonium sulfate, which helps make newsprint fibers more fire-resistant—and can also help repel insects!
Cellulose is a more environmentally friendly material than others. It has R-values of around R-3.5 per inch, which is comparable to fiberglass, and a higher percentage of recycled material.
Cellulose is available as a loose-fill product that must be blown into place using a specialized machine. It can be mounted on open attic floors, existing walls, and other surfaces.
You can raise the insulation amount here without tearing the wall apart by blowing cellulose through small holes. Eco Spray Insulation can provide this material and we will make sure that you will live in a safe environment.
2. Spray Foam Insulation
Spray foam is one of the most energy-efficient insulation options available, with an R-value of up to R-6.5 per inch! As a result, it’s an excellent option for environmentally friendly insulation. Polyurethane spray foam that is made from soy or vegetable oil rather than petroleum is also available, making it even better for the climate.
3. Cotton (Denim) Insulation
Cotton is more than just a popular clothing fabric for making blue jeans. Denim scraps may be recycled into cotton insulation at the end of the manufacturing process. The material is made up of 85 percent recycled denim and 15 percent plastic treated with borate, the same fire retardant and insect repellent used in cellulose. R-3.4 per inch is the insulation rating of this material.
4. Sheep’s Wool Insulation
Wool has been used to make warm clothing for decades. But did you know that this eco friendly insulation material can also be used to insulate your home? Sheep’s wool has an R-value of around R-3.0 to R-4.0 per inch of thickness. While this strange version of home insulation is naturally fire-resistant, manufacturers also add borate to keep pests and mold at bay
5. Ecological wood wool insulation
Wood wool is an environmentally friendly material that can be used to insulate floors, walls, and roofs. The material can be customized and does not irritate the skin or the lungs. Wood wool has a high heat storage capacity and also provides excellent acoustic insulation.
Advantages include high heat storage capacity, damp resistance, and vapour permeability.
In comparison to other products of similar value, it is more costly.
6. Hemp insulation
Hemp is a renewable insulation material that decomposes entirely once used. Hemp fibers have a woody structure, are solid, and can be easily made into blankets for insulation. Hemp may be used to insulate roofs, walls, facades, and floors, with the exception of damp spaces.
Advantages: absolutely recyclable, moisture-regulating
Disadvantages: Not suitable for humid environments.
Why Cellulose Insulation is the “Greenest Of The Green”
It’s an easy concept to transform waste paper and old newspapers into the insulation. It’s only natural to divert tons of paper from landfills and use it to produce one of the most effective insulation items on the market. Rather than allowing all that paper to decompose and release toxic gases into the atmosphere, it can be used to insulate attics, walls, and crawl spaces. Using cellulose insulation traps carbon in the construction for the life of the building, reducing greenhouse gas emissions even further.
Cellulose insulation is produced from wood cell matter, which is a renewable natural resource that takes very little energy to make. This not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions during the production process, but it also prevents waste paper from emitting toxic gases into landfills. It’s only one of the many advantages of cellulose insulation, in addition to the primary goal of decreasing energy consumption, reducing waste, and making buildings more comfortable.
It would save 7,030,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year if all of the paper currently disposed of in landfills was converted to Cellulose insulation!
The following are some important “Green” facts about cellulose insulation:
- Cellulose needs less energy to manufacture than any other form of insulation. Fiberglass has ten times the embodied energy of cellulose, making it the most common insulation among homeowners. Embodied energy is also higher in petroleum-based foam insulation materials.
- Cellulose has the industry’s highest percentage of post-consumer recycled material, with up to 85% recycled newspaper. Cellulose insulation diverts waste from landfills, saving precious space. Paper is the most common part of landfills.
- Unlike fiberglass or foam insulation, cellulose insulation degrades naturally after its useful life. Rather than the debris that would never decompose, cellulose insulation would leave only non-toxic, biodegradable material for clean-up in the event of a natural disaster.
- Insulation made of cellulose can be made locally. The old maxim “Think Globally, Act Locally” takes on new significance as municipal recycling systems and independent recyclers are used to support neighborhoods close to home.
Fiberglass is currently the most common form of insulation used in home construction and renovation. As you can see in other posts on this blog, fiberglass insulation performs poorly compared to cellulose insulation, particularly when temperatures drop below freezing. Our mission is to educate and inform the community about the environmental consequences of the insulation choices they make.
Importance and advantages of sustainable insulation
- The products used in green insulation are either recycled (recyclable) or compostable.
- The majority of the time, the manufacturing process only necessitates a small amount of energy.
- The products are non-irritating and completely safe to use.
- There are enough raw materials available (no resource depletion).
- The majority of environmentally friendly insulation materials have a high heat storage capability. They defend against overheating, resulting in increased thermal comfort. The heat that has been absorbed is eventually released into the house.
- Eco friendly insulation materials can absorb moisture and still work well. As a consequence, it is possible to construct a breathing, vapour-permeable structure. In certain situations, however, a good foil (moisture-regulating vapour barrier) would be needed due to the house’s air density.
Request a Quote from Eco Spray Insulation
Speak to our team at Eco Spray Insulation if you’ve been considering installing eco friendly insulation products at your home. We’ll work with you to keep your home cozy and healthy while still being environmentally conscious.
Call us at (416) 860-6664 or email us at [email protected] to get a free quote.
