With today's rapidly growing interest in leading a more sustainable, low-energy, and eco-friendly lifestyle, cellulose insulation is the clear choice when insulating your home or business. Even though cellulose has been in use since the early-to-mid 20th century as an insulation material—with dramatic improvements since its introduction—many architects and builders aren't yet fully aware of its vast superiority over fiberglass and foam. National Fiber (NF), serving the greater northeastern U.S., is a leading manufacturer of the product and is actively working to broaden awareness and increase usage in homes and buildings, not just in the northeast, but across the country.
With a recycled content greater than 83%, an R-value of 3.8 per inch and a very low embodied energy content, cellulose insulation is one of the only green, high-performance insulations on the market, and one of the most effective, cost-efficient, environmentally-positive, and safe options available to consumers.
"Cellulose insulation is a quality product that speaks for itself," said NF president Chris Hoch. "As families and businesses make the decision to lead a more environmentally-responsible lifestyle, cellulose is the best choice among insulation products. Its high performance and safety are unmatched, and its recycled content and energy saving potential are unrivaled."
Benefits of Cellulose Insulation
Performance: Cellulose insulation has been proven in numerous industry government and third party sponsored tests to be up to 40% more effective as a thermal insulator, and a much better air and sound barrier than conventional fiberglass insulation. At temperatures below freezing, the performance of conventional insulation declines, while cellulose maintains its effectiveness. In addition to having a higher R-value than conventional insulation, cellulose provides an air barrier that blocks convective heat transfer, whereas air flows freely through and within fiberglass.
The benefits of cellulose insulation compared to fiberglass are proven and widely documented, but cellulose is a safer and better choice than sprayed foam insulation as well. Although foam insulation will reduce energy usage, most foams are made from petroleum, with less than 5% recycled materials. In the event of a fire, foam combusts and releases large quantities of smoke, containing toxic gases that are harmful to the environment. By comparison, cellulose is fire resistant, and actually prevents the spread of flames in the event of a fire.
Energy & Materials: Cellulose is cost competitive with conventional insulation and provides significant, on-going savings vs. conventional insulation on the cost of home energy. Cellulose insulation is environmentally friendly, as it requires less energy for manufacturing and is made from recycled materials; on the other hand, conventional insulation requires huge amounts of energy to produce and contains less than 20 % recycled materials.
Fire Safety: In addition to superior performance, cellulose insulation is one of the safest materials used in home construction. If a fire occurs, the dense structure of cellulose and its fire retardants slow its spread through the building by blocking flames and hot gases and restricting the availability of oxygen in insulated walls and ceilings. Scientists at the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) report that, "cellulose in the wall cavity provided an increase in the fire resistance performance of 22% to 55%." Fire roars rightthrough conventional insulation. The NRCC study showed that, "the fire resistance of an assembly insulated with fiberglass was slightly lower than that of a non-insulated assembly."