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Table of Contents
General Cellulose Insulation Facts.
Cellulose insulation is an all natural product constructed from recycled paper
products. Recently, it has grown in popularity due to its acoustical and
thermal characteristics. When installed into the exterior walls of a new home,
the owner can expect about a 35% savings on there energy bill and almost total
elimination of outside noise. That means no more barking dogs, blaring car
music, and beeping horns, all while keeping your heating/air bills low. It also
has fire-retardant characteristics, which limits the spread of fire with both
flame and smolder combustion resistance. If a fire disaster would take place,
it provides the homeowner with more time for their family and valuables to get
out safely. Cellulose pays for itself quickly; it’s the only product you can
install in your home that continues savings for the life of the home!
Cellulose helps maximize the convection barrier between your home and the
temperatures in the attic.
Convection is the transfer of heat by a liquid or gas
(such as air). Circulatory air motion due to warmer air rising and cooler air
falling is a common mechanism by which thermal energy is transferred. An open
chimney flue provides a good example of convective heat loss during the winter.
Warm air will rise up the chimney and cold air will fall down into the home.
The energy used to warm the air that escapes is lost. The cold air must now be
heated. The greater the temperature difference between the inside and outside
of the home and the larger the openings in the home, the easier it is for air
to move and the greater losses you will have due to convection. Convective heat
loss occurs through cracks and holes in the home and gaps and voids in
ceilings, walls, and floors—and in the insulation. Convection also occurs if
air can circulate through the insulation — if insulation is to be effective; it
must prevent air from flowing easily through it. Properly applied insulation
reduces convective heat loss by resisting and minimizing air movement.
R-value
Insulation is rated by R-value. The higher the R-value the less heat is
transferred through a material in a given period of time. (The R-value is the
reciprocal of the U-value.) Attic insulation rated at R-40 will have a greater
resistance to conductive heat transfer than attic insulation rated at R-19.
R-values are determined in laboratory conditions by placing carefully prepared
test specimens between two plates and measuring heat flow by conduction through
the insulation. It is widely believed that the higher the R-value, the better
the insulation. This is not necessarily true unless all other factors (such as
density or gaps and voids) are identical.
Laboratory R-values do not take into consideration many factors (for instance,
wind-wash on the outside walls, and less-than-perfect installation) that exist
in real homes.
R-value is a good measure of insulating quality—as far as it goes. But remember
that R-value is a laboratory measurement of a material’s resistance to
conductive heat transfer only. And we don’t live in carefully controlled
laboratories—and there are other methods of heat transfer than just conduction.
In other words, R-value can be a good measure for comparing different brands of
the same type of insulation; but it can be a poor predictor of ability between
different types of insulation. To get the insulating benefit you’ve paid for,
know your choices!
How is an Attic Capped and What Can a Homeowner
Expect?
APC Insulation Systems can easily cap your attic with no disruption to your
everyday life. We have an entirely self contained, truck mounted, blowing
system. We simply run a house to your attic, and blow the cellulose insulation
over your existing fiberglass. Within hours, you will feel the temperature
between your floors begin to even out. Your heating/air system will run less
because the cellulose keeps the warm/cool air inside the home, resulting in
lower energy bills! The savings will pay for the cost in no time, then you
continue the savings for the life of the home. It’s the best option on the
market today for both your comfort and your bank account! Its keeps the comfort
in and the energy bills low!
Tax Rebate
Cellulose actually saves you more money than just on your energy bill…
Under the newly-passed energy bill, the homeowner will receive an income tax
credit of 10% of the cost of installing cellulose, up to a maximum of $500 for
an attic cap. A tax credit is big news for cellulose customers. Latest oil and
natural gas price estimates are truly staggering. Since 2000, prices have risen
about 250% with most of that increase (oil=187%, gas=168%) coming in 2005. A
similar increase in 2007 would easily put oil prices over $100/barrel mark!
Little wonder that homeowners are pleased when they hear about the option to
have their home insulated with cellulose. It’s the only product that the
homeowner can request that actually pays for itself. Cellulose typically pays
for itself in less than 12 months, but the savings and home protection lasts
forever.
Cellulose and its effect on the environment
Environmental Building News believes that cellulose insulation should
be a preferred insulation material for environmentally concerned builders and
designers. After intense study and thorough investigation, the journal reported
that cellulose is clearly the environmentally-friendly insulation. Cellulose is
more often than not, the best choice for architects, builders, contractors, and
homeowners concerned about responsible environmental stewardship.
Embodied Energy
Embodied energy is the amount of energy used to
manufacture a product. Fiberglass is manufactured using enormous blast furnaces
that consume a great amount of energy. Cellulose is manufactured using
electrically-driven mills. Data reported to the Canadian Standards Association*
suggest that fiberglass actually requires at least 25 to 30 times more energy
to make than cellulose of equivalent R-value (adjustments for weight
differences are included in the calculation).iv
Recycled Materials
Fiberglass manufacturers typically use only 20% to
30%, if any, recycled glass cullet (broken, waste glass).
Cellulose on average contains at least 75% recycled, post-consumer newsprint.
(T•A•P contains 85%.) This saves millions of cubic yards of landfill space,
provides a valuable product from what otherwise must be buried or burned, and
helps reduce the rate of depletion of our nation's limited resources. Thanks in
part to the efforts of cellulose manufacturers like T•A•P, newspaper is the
most commonly recycled household material.
Cellulose insulation manufactured from recycled paper is the least polluting and
most energy efficient insulation.
Most houses are cellulose (made from wood and forest products). T•A•P contains a
fire-retardant chemical that actually makes homes safer in case of fire.
Ordinary fiberglass insulation can melt, creating a chimney-like effect in a
wall. T•A•P, with its fire-retardant characteristics, forms a charred surface
barrier which limits the spread of fire.
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