According to the Department of Energy 80 percent of older houses do not have adequate insulation. In order to maintain comfortable temperatures, homes that are not well insulated will require more money and energy. Insulation projects are inexpensive, easy and can bring big rewards for homeowners.
“Energy efficiency is on everyone’s mind these days, and one of the easiest ways to help your home perform as efficiently as possible and lower home heating and cooling costs is to make sure the insulation in your attic is providing an effective thermal barrier,”Bohdan Boyko is a GreenFiber building science manager, who makes a natural fiber cellulose insulation product from recycled materials.
Insulation from cellulose keeps hundreds of thousands ton of paper from going to landfills every year. It also reduces the atmospheric emissions of millions of tons. Refuse efficiency experts claim that paper products account 34% of landfill space. That’s enough paper for a wall 12 feet tall from Los Angeles to New York City.
“Cellulose insulation products are a natural choice for people who are as committed to the environment as they are to lowering energy costs and keeping their families warm in the winter and cool in the summer,”Boyko said that cellulose insulation is both flame-retardant as well as sound-dampening. Because cellulose insulation can be applied directly to existing insulation products, it is easy to adjust the coverage and apply it over existing insulation products.
R-value refers to a standard rating system that measures insulation products’ ability to resist heat transfer. It also determines the thickness of insulation needed to keep a particular structure in an insulated climate.
The GreenFiber website has the Homeowners Resources section. To find the R-value recommended for your area, please visit www.GreenFiber.com. www.greenfiber.com/homeowners. The chart below shows how much insulation you need for your home and how much material to buy in order to insulate it properly.
