Insulation plays a key role in sustainable living and contributes to improved energy efficiency, lower costs, comfort, and reduced environmental impact.
It reduces heat flow, thereby lowering heating and cooling demand. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, while improving indoor air quality and reducing noise pollution.
Simple sustainability practices make a difference, from refusing plastic straws to setting up an indoor compost bin.
Reduced Energy Bills
Insulation creates a barrier that inhibits thermal transfer, thus significantly reducing energy consumption. Insulation also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. Consequently, it is considered one of the most sustainable building materials available.
Insulated homes and buildings use less energy for heating and cooling, which results in significant cost savings. In fact, the insulation itself can be paid for by energy savings within a year or less.
Additionally, insulation minimizes condensation in walls, floors and ceilings, which can prevent mold and rot as well as lower the risk of structural damage. It also provides acoustic insulation, which keeps noise pollution out of your home.
As a result, your health and comfort are greatly improved, while your utility bills go down. The value of your property may increase as well, since many homebuyers are interested in energy-efficient properties.
The type of insulation you choose can affect your indoor air quality (IAQ). Fiberglass and cellulose are popular choices for residential insulation, as they offer excellent performance at an affordable price. However, these types of insulation can off-gas volatile organic compounds that can negatively impact your health. In contrast, natural and renewable materials such as wool insulation provide excellent insulating performance while minimizing off-gassing. Additionally, these materials are often less flammable and more durable than their synthetic counterparts.
Improved Indoor Air Quality
Insulation helps to keep indoor air clean, healthy and comfortable year-round. It offers protection from dust, mold, humidity and excess moisture that can cause many health issues. In addition, it guards against outdoor pollutants and allergens from entering living spaces and promoting an environment where family members can thrive.
Depending on the type of insulation installed, it can prevent conditioned air from escaping homes in the winter and heat from entering them in the summer, which can help to reduce energy consumption and costs. In some cases, it can also reduce acoustical issues by stopping sound transfer between rooms or floors.
Most insulation materials are designed to be as safe as possible for the environment, including minimizing off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, some insulation can also promote high humidity levels and encourage the growth of mold in attics, crawlspaces or other places where they may be located.
The right balance of energy efficiency and ventilation is needed to support healthy indoor environments. Insulation, when used with proper air sealing techniques and ventilation strategies that promote the exchange of stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air, can significantly improve IAQ. This can help to reduce the need for expensive indoor air-cleaning devices and contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. It can also minimize the amount of radon that enters homes, which can have long-term health effects.
Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Insulation keeps heat, sound, and electricity from spreading in homes, which minimizes energy usage and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. When people think of carbon-reduction methods, they often focus on alternative transportation vehicles and greener energy sources, but insulation is also a major player in this fight against climate change.
According to Project Drawdown, insulating walls and roofs is one of the most cost-effective solutions for reducing heating and cooling energy use, which in turn reduces greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings. Because most of the heat loss in a home occurs through the walls and roof, putting in insulation decreases energy usage by as much as 95%, which translates into fuel costs savings of $417 per square foot per year, and a reduction of 2,309 pounds of CO2 emissions.
As building professionals work to minimize embodied carbon, the use of cellulose and other plant-based insulation materials is gaining momentum. According to a study by Builders for Climate Action, blown cellulose has the lowest upfront embodied carbon of any insulation type before taking into account its carbon storage benefits. Board and rigid foam insulations like XPS are far behind, but new regulations in 2021 that eliminate the use of hydrofluorocarbon blowing agents will significantly lower their embodied carbon.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, a well-insulated home can increase property value. While the impact will vary depending on the size of a home and the type of insulation installed, some reports indicate that homeowners enjoy an average 2 to 6 percent increase in their home’s overall value.
Increased Property Value
The benefits of insulation go far beyond the comfort of the people living in a home. The impact on environmental sustainability and energy efficiency is substantial.
Properly insulated homes require less energy for temperature regulation, decreasing the demand on resources like natural gas, fuel oil and electricity. This minimizes the production of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Choosing eco-friendly insulation, such as spray foam or cellulose, reduces the environmental footprint of a building. These materials are made of recycled or renewable sources, reducing waste and cutting down on the need for virgin materials. They also possess moisture-control properties, regulating indoor humidity levels and preventing mold and mildew growth.
In addition, installing insulation can significantly increase your property value. It is one of the most cost-effective improvements you can make to your home. According to Remodeler Magazine’s annual “Cost vs. Value” report, insulating an existing home with fiberglass attic insulation has the potential to earn homeowners back more than 117% of their initial investment, even without considering energy bill savings*.
In the modern world, where sustainable living is a top priority for many individuals, the importance of eco-friendly insulation cannot be overstated. Conscientious insulation choices support greener, more energy efficient structures that can be embraced by the communities in which they’re built. From the smallest of details, to the larger picture, eco-friendly insulation plays an important role in fostering a greener tomorrow.