Improving your home’s insulation is a powerful way to reduce your fossil fuel consumption. Decreasing indoor temperature fluctuation minimizes the load on your HVAC, which uses more energy than any other system in your home.
What should you do if it’s time to don your DIY apron or hire a contractor? Here’s what you need to know about performing an audit and incorporating cutting-edge insulation techniques to make your pad more sustainable.
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Cutting-Edge Techniques for a Well-Insulated Home
Your home’s insulation improvement journey begins with a thorough walk-through. Performing a quick audit of the following areas often reveals deficiencies you can correct to save money on your power bill and be more sustainable.
1. Start High
Your work begins with your roof and attic. You should ideally inspect your roof once a year, and older homes or in those areas prone to storms may need a professional visit to maintain insurance coverage. Addressing loose shingles and obvious holes isn’t only an insulation issue — it can lead to other types of damage, like infestation and electrical fires.
Then, go through your attic. According to Energy Star, you should have between 13 and 18 inches of insulation — subtract this number from what you have to determine how much to add. Additionally, examine areas around attic windows, vents and pipes. Insulating your vent pipe prevents bursting and reinforcing weatherstripping around regions of ingress and egress stops drafts.
2. Get Low
The air beneath the earth maintains a consistent temperature because of the layers of dirt insulating it. However, moisture and dampness can creep up from down below, making you feel colder and spurring you to turn on the heat. Choosing a sustainable spray foam and applying it between the ceiling joists keeps the rest of your house warmer.
This may be enough if you have a crawl space or an unused basement. Those who also use this part of the house as a living area should consider subfloor insulation, which creates a barrier against the cold foundation. Wrapping all pipes in insulation is a must to prevent freezing. Doing so cuts down on moisture from condensation, preventing dampness and potential mold.
3. Go In and Out
Your ingress and egress areas are your next order of business. You can often feel drafts around doors and windows and can view cracks when there’s a contrast between the lighting indoors and out.
Caulk is often all you need to address windows. Still, homeowners with older, single-pane models might consider an upgrade if it’s in their budgets, as dual-panes can save considerable energy. Weatherstripping eliminates gaps between doorframes. Door sweeps can be made of wood, rubber or plastic or take a brush style and don’t take much DIY savvy to install.
4. Check Around the Outside
Check less-inspected areas, such as your garage. If the room above it always feels cold, it’s likely uninsulated. Adding insulation to the ceiling and walls can improve your home’s energy efficiency. Adding insulation to the garage door is another great option.
How does it work? Certain insulated doors contain a thick layer of polyurethane between heavy steel, effectively blocking outside drafts, wind and rain. This also helps to soundproof your garage if you use it for mechanic work that makes considerable noise.
You can also check the insulation inside your walls, although it’s a bit trickier. Remove the face plate from one of your wall sockets and shine a flashlight inside. You can also hire a professional contractor who will drill a hole in an inconspicuous location and use an instrument to explore the level inside your walls.
Professionals and DIYers alike often use spray foam insulation inside existing walls. However, there are multiple sustainable insulation types to choose from today.
6 Sustainable Insulation Materials to Consider
You have multiple sustainable options to consider when it’s time to add insulation. Here are six of the most eco-friendly choices for insulating your home.
1. Cellulose
Cellulose insulation originates from several plant-based sources, including corn cobs, wood scraps, recycled newspaper, cardboard, office papers or other everyday waste. It lasts from 20 to 30 years and is eco-friendly, as it stems from biodegradable sources and makes use of discarded materials.
Additionally, cellulose is one of the most popular types of blown-in insulation. It’s appropriate for spraying inside walls or attics. Its loosely compacted nature lets it settle into cracks and fill gaps in existing insulation, making it an excellent option if you simply need to “top off” your existing fill.
2. Wools
Wool isn’t just for keeping sheep and loggers warm in the winter. Various types can also protect your home against outside temperature variations.
- Glass wool: Traditional fiberglass insulation is energy-intensive to manufacture, but some brands now incorporate recycled glass to reduce the environmental impact.
- Wood wool: This option is similar to cellulose and produced from wood slivers taken from logs.
- Mineral wool: This substance comes from post-industrial recycled content, doesn’t require additional chemicals for fireproofing, and is available in batts or loose fill.
- Regular sheep’s wool: This stuff makes excellent insulation, and you don’t need PPE to install it. It may purify your indoor air somewhat, thanks to its ability to absorb chemicals like formaldehyde.
3. Hemp
The 2018 Farm Bill paved the way for industrial hemp. Hempcrete made it onto the list of approved building materials in the International Residential Code. Hemp insulation R-values, the measure of how well they protect against the elements, is comparable to fiberglass, and the Department of Energy has invested money into helping some companies investigate its potential.
4. Icynene
Icynene is a newer alternative to spray foams that expands to up to 100 times its original volume, making it an attractive filler. However, sometimes, it can fill too much, disrupting walls and studs. For this reason, it’s not appropriate for DIY, but a professional installation can result in long-lasting comfort. This substance fills gaps and may reduce allergies by improving your indoor air quality.
5. Polystyrene
Although traditional polystyrene created environmental problems as it could only be recycled into lesser items, a new process discovered in 2020 results in a recycled product that’s even stronger than the original. Therefore, it’s now more eco-friendly, adding another option to the repertoire of sustainable insulation solutions. It’s available in batts and spray foam for wall installation.
6. Aerogel
Aerogel is perhaps the most exciting new sustainable insulation to hit the market in years, offering superior performance, lightness and eco-friendliness all in one. Aerogels maintain their structural stability even under high temperatures and also improve acoustics, keeping sound from leaking into places you don’t want it. Concerns remain about the potential health risks of particles during manufacture and degradation, but this substance offers significant promise.
Try Cutting-Edge Insulation Techniques
Reducing reliance on fossil fuels means discovering alternative ways to stay warm. Insulation offers one way to do so by keeping extreme heat and cold from affecting your indoor temperatures as dramatically.
There are plenty of sustainable options on the market, so start with an analysis of what your home needs and make the eco-friendly choice to improve your comfort without burning as much oil, coal or natural gas.