The cost of going green: Insulation edition
So here are our options for insulating the house:
- Fiberglass batts. Basically the standard Pink Panther Owens Corning insulation.
- Spray-in foam. All the rage in the home-building industry.
- Recycled cotton insulation. All the rage in the green home-building industry.
As you can imagine, the greenest option (cotton) is the most expensive, the laziest option (spray-in) may be even more, and the easiest — though itchiest — option is the cheapest.
I’m not sure what this all means yet, but I’d be interested to see what the real pros and cons of spray-in insulation are for older homes. I have a feeling that houses like ours weren’t designed to be perfect little insulated bubbles because underneath the house there is a constant cool air flow and the attic is hot like the second level of Hell.
I’ll have to check with Bob Vila on this, but it’s looking like the Panther may win out over my green-leaning.
Research Links:
http://www.bondedlogic.com/ultratouch.htm
http://chemicaldesigncorp.net/Cotton_Batt_Insulation.html – Distributor of the UltraTouch cotton insulation. Rutlege, GA.
http://www.airtightinsulation.com/store.html – Another distributor
Have you looked into the spray-in soy insulation? We used Icynene spray-in foam (not soy), but everything we’ve read says how much $$ we will save on energy bills by adding these energy efficient features. If you’re mortgaging your house, then consider that the cost of the insulation will be spread out over 30 years. Say the extra $$ for insulation adds $40/year to your mortgage. If the energy savings to be accrued in one year are greater than the $40 figure, then you’ve won out by going green.
Cheers!
Heather W
Unfortunately this is coming out of our pocket as we go, so it doesn’t get rolled into the mortgage (a nice thought). I got a quote for spray-in just for the attic that came in at $4,000+. I can only imagine how much spray-in would be for the whole house!