I am trying to make my home more green eficient, and I am in the process of fixing up a back house, I would like to use materials for insulation of walls that are environment friendly, what would you recommend? Your help is vry much appreciated! Thank you :)
2007-05-26 08:56:53 · 12 answers · asked by à®?á?¦MORAJAá?¦à®? 4 in Environment ➔ Green Living
Do not use shredded news paper....w/ time it settles and so only portions of your walls will remain insulated and that's not cool.
There is a soy based open cell foam that's new on the market and is supposed to be really good for the environment.
2007-05-29 14:20:15 · answer #1 · answered by Brie G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, that is pretty tough, because it depends on how you define "environmentally friendly." To me, that means doesn't break down for a long time, so you don't have to re-insulate and reside your house every few years. It also depends on where you live, to some extent, as I assure you there are vastly different ways of attacking this problem in Tuscon, AZ and Fairbanks, AK. In Tucson, you may want to go with an adobe dense material "transfer" approach, whereas here in Alaska we are looking more at rigid foam and the "outside insulation technique."
2007-05-26 17:03:00 · answer #2 · answered by golgafrincham 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
shredded blue jeans
(no really!!!)
just saw a house get completed using recycled blue jeans that had been shredded as insulate.
it worked great!!!
what really dictates what kind of insulation you can use is how thick your walls are. if they are only 2x4, or 2x6 studs that frame the walls, the shredded denim may not provide enough "R-Value". In this case, using a spray-in form fitting "ultra-fit" is a good choice and very affordable. The material used is a recycled fiberglass that has a glue incorporated into it during the spray-in process that renders the material very inert (it won't float away into the air currents)
really though:
the best choice for isulation is earth!!!
check this out:
http://www.earthshelteredhome.com/
http://www.earthhomes.net/
2007-05-26 16:14:04 · answer #3 · answered by ỉη ץ٥ڵ 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My great aunt & uncle built a house back before there was insulation...They used cereal boxes & other boxes, newspaper, old clothes, and paper. You can find so much to fill your walls & ceilings.
I would try to stay away from the food boxes as bugs will sense the food. Then you'll have a bug problem.
Good luck & keep up the good work.
2007-05-28 12:47:26 · answer #4 · answered by lilzoo411@yahoo.com 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fiber glass and rock and slag wool insulations benefit the environment in a number of ways. Insulation is a key to energy efficiency in commercial, residential and industrial facilities of all kinds. Insulation in factories can help reduce emissions of green house and other gases, and reduce energy consumption. Because these products use a high level of post-consumer, recycled products, NAIMA members help reduce reliance on virgin resources. For more on the many environmental benefits of these products, visit our section on the environment by clicking here.
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How do I know which insulation products are the most environmentally-friendly?
There are a number of so-called green products on the market, but to be truly environmentally friendly a product must do more than just use recycled goods. Fiber glass and mineral wool insulation manufacturers have improved their manufacturing processes to reduce transportation loads and energy usage. Because these products are highly compact, fewer bags are needed on the jobsite and packaging these products creates less waste.
Fiber glass relies on post-consumer glass and uses millions of pounds every year, creating one of the largest markets for recycled glass according to the Glass Packaging Institute. Since glass is made from sand, any new glass used in insulation comes from a rapidly renewable resource, unlike insulation products that rely on secondary wood products as their base material.
Slag wool insulation uses raw materials derived from a secondary source - blast furnace slag - and does not deplete any natural resources. In many cases, NAIMA members recover blast furnace slag from landfills to use in their manufacturing process
2007-05-26 16:32:00 · answer #5 · answered by Michael N 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
THere are alot of good materials listed but one that is already bundled up that is a renewable resource is straw bales. Their R value is quite high they are already bundled up and ready to go the only down side is your walls are gonna be kinda thick but thats not so bad..... Hope that helps
2007-05-26 22:14:35 · answer #6 · answered by Dan 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You also get tax breaks for insulating your home. Check out energystar.gov
2007-05-26 16:29:30 · answer #7 · answered by Jimmy K 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
try the spray systems
they do best for sound and thermal insulation
they either spray a foam product or little shredded pieces of recycled paper
2007-05-29 15:33:19 · answer #8 · answered by TH 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep, shredded newspaper. It can be blown into the interior of your walls and has a very high R factor.
2007-05-26 19:42:09 · answer #9 · answered by DaveSFV 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you can get recycled blue or denim jeans that they have made into insulation. they also make an insulation with recycled news paper.
2007-05-26 16:02:18 · answer #10 · answered by george 2 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋