"Insulation"

Insulation / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Insulation and soundproofing

Is Spray Foam a Good Choice? Lessons from the UK's Spray Foam Insulation Crisis

...insulation, creating a ripple effect in the real estate market. Take precautions with spray foam insulation: what North American homeowners should do Given the potential risks, North American homeowners should proceed with caution when considering installing spray foam insulation. If you already had spray foam insulati...

Insulation and soundproofing

Spray Foam Insulation: The Hidden Environmental Costs of Difficult Removal

...insulation material. The difficulties of removing spray foam insulation One of the most significant challenges with spray foam insulation - both closed-cell and open-cell varieties - is its tenacious adherence to building materials. Spray foam is designed to expand and bond tightly to surfaces, filling every crack and ...

Insulation and soundproofing

Is spray foam insulation a good choice for your home? Or a toxic recipe for disaster?

...insulation When installed properly, spray foam can help make a house airtight (when first applied); it works as a vapor barrier and it adds a significant level of insulation to a home, further reducing the energy needed for heating and cooling. An all-in-one product for home renovation that provides the insulation, air...

Insulation and soundproofing

How much insulation is too much in attics and walls?

...insulation is too much in an attic? What does ‘diminishing returns’ for insulation mean? It's as simple as this - adding one inch of insulation to a wall that has only one inch of insulation is certainly well worth the investment, in any climate. Adding one inch of insulation to a wall that has 5 inches of insulation...

Efficient home design

Why building an affordable family home today means choosing to build a Green Home

...insulation levels have significantly dropped in selling price, while high efficiency modern eco homes have gone up in price - by the simple mechanics of supply and demand. This is easily explained by the fact that when faced with the choice, almost all of us would prefer a modern, comfortable, healthier and efficient h...

Insulation and soundproofing

Non-toxic natural building insulation made of grass

...insulation materials In order to combat the climate change impact of the built environment, natural insulation materials such as hemp insulation, cellulose, wood fiber and grass insulation help us meet emission targets because they act as carbon storage. We are living in a time when the embodied energy of buildings is ...

Insulation and soundproofing

Hemp insulation in Canada & USA - insulating naturally is an Eco-friendly alternative

...insulation with no special safety gear or gloves required. Hemp batt wall insulation in a wood framed wall © Nature Fibres Hemp insulation products available through Nature Fibres: Flexible and compressible insulation batts; masonry blocks; semi-rigid soundproofing panels; semi-rigid decorative and soundproofing ...

Efficient home design

Insulation in green home building, a balanced approach to putting it where it does the most good

...insulation is best? Balancing insulation is about respecting the laws of diminishing returns. Example - If I have a wall with just 2 inches of insulation and I add another 2 inches, I will certainly get my money out of it as that two inches doubles my insulation levels. If I have a wall with 30 inches of insulation and...

Efficient home design

Are better insulated homes worth the money?

...insulation and the homeowner would get the savings. I'm not trying to rip on developers, that's just the reality of the business. We shop for houses largely based on the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage; not many prospective buyers ask existing homeowners to cough up their utility bills, or developers ...

Efficient home design

Understanding thermal performance

...insulation combinations to minimize building energy consumption, though increased insulation will probably be the best option in most cases. The Big Picture: Energy While insulation R-values are important, what really matters is energy consumption. To assess the impact of different roof insulation types on whole buildi...

Roof assemblies - new construction

Using mineral wool insulation batts in roofs

Mineral wool roof insulation used to best effect: Watch more green building video on the Ecohome YouTube channel here The Ecohome's Edelweiss House LEED Platinum certified V4 roof is a 2/12 pitch insulated to R95 with Rockwool (formerly Roxul) mineral wool batts. R95 far exceeds the most rigorous Canadian building cod...