Filed under: cellulose insulation
To all of our Greenest of the Green viewers and subscribers: We’ve launched a new CIMA blog called Greenest Insulation. Please check out this exciting blog with a new look
and better user features. While you’re there, become a subscriber and be registered to win an Apple iPad 2.
Click here to visit the Greenest Insulation for complete details. Subscribe by September 30, 2011 to qualify.
The Greenest of the Green theme will continue to drive content on the new blog. The Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association is dedicated to its search for green ideas, products and energy efficiency.
Thanks for your support.
Dan Lea, CIMA Executive Director
Filed under: cellulose insulation, Energy Savings, Green Building | Tags: cellulose insulation, energy audits, energy savings, insulation, proper insulation, reducing carbon emissions, www.cellulose.org
The Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association (CIMA) manages the website cellulose.org as an informational resource for its members, building industry professionals and consumers. Analysis of the visitors to the website, which number in the thousands monthly, reveals some interesting trends. Over the years, the pattern of visitors is very consistent. The late spring and early summer months tend to see a drop off in visitors to the website. But as the heat of August drives up the cost of keeping homes cool, and back-to-school triggers thoughts of the coming colder fall and winter, visitor traffic increases. Activity on the website continues to grow each month until spring when the cycle begins anew.
It’s easy to understand why interest in things related to heating and cooling a home varies relative to the temperature outside. What consumers may not realize though is that the best time to be concerned about their insulation is relevant no matter what the season. Proper insulation can save homeowners money every month of the year by some degree. The potential savings, while clearly greater in the extreme months of August and January, are important year round. In addition, it may be easier, and potentially less expensive, to schedule energy audits and insulation upgrades and installations during the more temperate months. Insulation is the single most important factor in reducing energy costs of a typical home. Cellulose insulation, with its high recycled paper content, is also one of the greenest products a consumer can add to their home. It’s truly the win-win opportunity to save money and help save the planet by reducing carbon emissions.
The majority of consumer activity on the CIMA website is geared toward content associated in one way or another with reducing energy. Cellulose.org features many useful tools from calculating savings to finding insulation contractors to do-it-yourself tips. The Department of Energy(DOE) website is another good online resource for information on insulation. The website has a calculator available that can help consumers determine the amount of insulation needed depending on the zip code where their home is located.
A first step for consumers should be to have an energy audit done on their home. This is an assessment to determine the energy-efficiency of a home. A homeowner can start the process conducting their own self assessment by closely examining their house.
- Do a visual check of the attic access to determine the level and quality of insulation (review the CIMA and DOE websites to learn what to look for first.) Add or replace the insulation if it is not up to par in the attic. This is critical since it’s the single biggest source of energy loss in most homes.
- Check around all areas where air can enter and escape from the home–windows, outlets, door frames, attic access, fireplace dampers, pipes and even dryer vents. If air movement is detected add caulk or weather stripping to seal these areas.
A professional blower door test provides readings on air leaks into a home.
Unfortunately, most of the factors that contribute to poor energy efficiency in a home require more than what can be accomplished by the typical homeowner. Insulation within the walls and crawl spaces cannot be easily examined if at all. Air leaks are hard to detect in tight spaces such as attic eaves, vents and pipe chases. The best option, if budget allows, is to have a comprehensive energy audit done by a professional. This will typically include a review of past energy bills to identify trends, visual inspections and utilizing specialized equipment to test the entire home. Two important features of most professional energy audits are a blower door test and thermal imaging. The blower door uses a fan to draw air out of the front door measuring the air pressure along with testing air drawn into the home at access points mentioned above (see an example from the Extreme Retrofit Winner story.) Thermal imaging uses infrared camera images to demonstrate variations in surface temperatures which indicates heat loss or gain.
Listings for professional energy auditors can be found in local yellow page directories or by searching online. Some state and local agencies as well as many utility companies and energy cooperatives offer free energy audits. An audit will typically include a written analysis along with a list of recommendations for improvement. Taking advantage of any of these services to audit a home can lead to greatly improved energy efficiency and substantially lower utility bills.
The time to have one done, and make improvements to your home, is now.
Filed under: cellulose insulation, Energy Savings, News & Information | Tags: Carbon Neutral Housing, climate change, environment, global warming, insluation, Retrofit Insulation
After a spring marked by some of the most damaging tornadoes in recent history and a couple of weeks of sweltering temperatures between the Rockies and the Appalachians the specter of “global warming” or “climate change” is again being raised. The fact is that no record high temperatures have been recorded in any state this summer. The last time a state set a new high temperature record was North Dakota in 2006. Before that it was Connecticut in 1995. Twenty-five of the 50 states set their high temperature records in the 1930s.
In spite of the fact that 2011 has not (so far) been a record-setting year on the weather front, it still makes sense for thoughtful people to be familiar with the evidence for and against climate change. It’s in everyone’s best interest to be acquainted with the latest scientific thinking. An important new entry on the pro-climate change side by a credible authority is The Weather of the Future: Heat Waves, Extreme Storms, and Other Scenes from a Climate Changed Planet, by Dr. Heidi Cullen, senior research scientist at Climate Central and a visiting lecturer at Princeton University. The book, which is now available in paperback or you can download it to your Kindle for $9.99, presents the case for a drastic change in weather patterns in recent decades, and describes the possible effects of climate change on the world.
Dr. Cullen was a guest on NPR’s Fresh Air program July 26. She shared many of her findings with host Terry Gross and discusses the cities likely to be most vulnerable to extreme weather in the near future. The interview can be heard on the program’s website.
Here at Greenest of the Green we don’t take a stance on whether or not climate change is occurring, and, if it is, whether it is a natural process or a human-caused phenomenon. We do know it just makes good sense not to add any more combustion products into the atmosphere or burn any more fossil fuels than necessary to sustain modern civilization. CIMA advocates the theory of minding small things to managing the big ones. Simple steps, like retrofitting homes with insulation will go a long way toward reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. New businesses and jobs could actually be created with an emphasis on upgrading the millions of older homes in need of insulation. Using cellulose insulation in these homes could redirect tons of paper annually from landfills to attics and walls, where it would reduce energy consumption and trap carbon for years.
Frankly, you don’t need concern over climate change to justify greater energy efficiency for buildings. Conserving resources, maintaining and improving air quality, and creating more comfortable living and working conditions are justification enough. If we end up saving the earth in the process, that’s a nice bonus.
Filed under: Alternative Energy, Carbon Neutral Housing, cellulose insulation, Energy Savings, Green Building | Tags: Alternative Energy, Carbon Neutral Housing, cellulose insulation, climate change, energy savings, global warming, Retrofit Insulation
The European Union and several of its member nations are moving forward rapidly with the concept of lowering the carbon footprint of houses. Concerns over climate change have driven this movement but many groups are now recognizing the practical implications–carbon neutral houses generally offer significantly lower operating costs.
In Great Britain gas emissions have to be reduced by 80% by 2050 and all buildings have to be carbon zero or neutral by 2020. Estimates are those goals will require some 600,000 homes to be retrofitted annually. Many of those retrofit projects will include adding and upgrading insulation since, like their American counterparts, many older homes in Great Britain are likely under insulated.
British Architects are beginning to take a leading role in the quest for carbon neutrality. A recent story from England on the Guardian Professional HousingnetworkBlog provides insight from Architect Nick Wilson. He proposes many practical design applications, including retrofitting insulation, that could be funded by local initiatives.
The Carbon Challenge winning house design included cellulose insulation.
CIMA and the APA joined forces in late 2010 to challenge architects in Florida to design houses with lower carbon footprints. The Carbon Challenge may be one of the first attempts to encourage architects in this country to begin thinking beyond zero-energy design to carbon neutral housing. Lowering the carbon footprint of homes involves thinking beyond just more efficient appliances. Specifying building materials with low embodied energy can make a big difference in the carbon required to construct new homes and retrofit older ones. Using products like cellulose insulation that divert waste from landfills and trap carbon for the life of the dwelling represent the best option for achieving carbon neutral houses.
A byproduct of the Carbon Challenge was the initial development of an EcoCalculator. APA and CIMA worked with the Athena Institute to design the EcoCalculator for residential application similar to Athena’s calculator for commercial buildings. The EcoCalculator is currently in a pre-release “beta” version and in the future is intended as a tool that can be used to calculate and compare the carbon of a variety of building materials. An architect or builder can use this tool to select the most carbon efficient materials for constructing or retrofitting a home to effectively lower the overall carbon footprint.
The push for carbon neutral housing in Great Britain and across the EU has been driven by government mandates related to climate change. A shift may be occurring toward the pragmatic side of reducing carbon emissions with the advent of rising energy costs and a slowing of global economies. The idea of lowering carbon footprints in housing may ultimately become the norm driven by home owner desire for lower operating costs. Architects and builders tend to respond to consumer demand quicker than governments can act on global climate change initiatives. As consumer desire for more energy-efficient houses and lower energy bills grows the housing industry will ramp up with new innovation.
Sen Tom Harkin(D-OH) with CIMA member Jim Reynolds.
Upfront costs tend to be the hurdle in getting more builders and home owners to invest in energy-efficient upgrades. Wilson also proposes a unique funding mechanism to make it possible for more home owners to pay for the government mandates in England. He proposes a tax increment financing program. In June, CIMA members spent two days in Washington, DC visiting congressional offices to share concepts about carbon neutral housing, weatherization programs and to educate legislators on the need for government to find similar ways to help our citizens invest in energy reduction programs. Estimates vary but most studies indicated a high percentage of the energy consumed in the United States is directly related to home energy uses. Investments in reducing the huge energy bill to heat and cool poorly insulated houses across the country could pay big dividends down the road and go a long way to minimizing our dependence on foreign oil.
The Carbon Challenge could be a harbinger for the future of residential housing design standards in America where consumer demand has always driven innovation. The benefits of reduced energy consumption and lower costs to home owners will be the primary driver–reducing carbon in the atmosphere will be a welcome added bonus.
Filed under: Alternative Energy, cellulose insulation, News & Information | Tags: Alternative Energy, cellulose insulation, energy savings, green buildings, insluation, News & Information, Retrofit Insulation
It is certainly no secret that energy costs are rising for U.S. households and businesses. While the estimates vary, studies in the past few years have put the average energy cost for the typical household ranging from 10 to as much as 20 percent of after tax income–hitting lower income families the hardest.
With the impact on families and businesses so high, it’s really no surprise that the discussion around the water cooler, and on Capitol Hill, continues to be on how to save energy and reduce costs. As the search for solutions and alternative energy continues in earnest, one sure solution is better insulation. Understanding the cost/benefits and options for increasing and improving insulation in homes and businesses is a critical component to reducing the cost of energy today and into the future.
The Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association and its producer members maintain the most current information on cellulose and other insulation products. In addition to hosting its website and publishing the Greenest of the Green blog, CIMA staff and members make informational presentations to many groups and organizations annually.
A professional presentation by CIMA includes the latest information on energy efficiency, insulation properties, how to properly install insulation and the unique benefits associated with using cellulose in homes and buildings. CIMA routinely updates a PowerPoint program that is used by its members when making presentations. This program offers a wide range of information and technical data presented in easy-to-understand visuals and graphics.
If you have a group interested in learning more about insulation, contact CIMA Executive Director Dan Lea at cima@cellulose.org to inquire about how to schedule a presentation.
Filed under: cellulose insulation | Tags: cellulose insulation, energy savings, insluation
Electric cooperatives (co-ops), unlike other types of electric utility companies, are beholden only to their members. Essentially each customer is a member and “owner” of the company. As such, electric co-ops have always tended to be progressive and aggressive in finding ways to reduce energy consumption to deliver electric at the best possible value to their members. These companies really know all about the importance of saving energy. They have to in order to keep “themselves” as satisfied customers.
Nu-Wool President Mark Henderson(R) with Doug Rye on his nationally-syndicated radio program.
Electric co-ops have long been on the forefront of energy efficiency. Most of these are smaller companies highly interested in finding ways to conserve energy in order to reduce the cost of providing electricity. In many cases, electric co-ops often identify and recommend products like cellulose insulation that are highly effective in saving energy. In fact, my co-op, Pioneer Electric Cooperative, in western Ohio, has partnered with CIMA member Nu-Wool to sponsor appearances by Doug Rye on the benefits of the product, and in an energy-efficient demonstration home that was insulated with cellulose.
We have seen other such initiatives by electric co-ops recommending cellulose insulation, among other energy saving products, to their members. A story this month on Craighead Electric Cooperative in Arkansas is one of many examples where co-ops have identified the value of cellulose insulation in home energy saving programs.
Post a comment and let us know if you are aware of examples where electric cooperatives are recommending cellulose insulation. We are also happy to help any cooperative partner with a CIMA Producer Member company to develop consumer oriented programs similar to those right here in my backyard of Western Ohio. We share the goal of finding ways to save energy and reduce the cost of heating and cooling homes across the nation. Visit CIMA’s website as always to learn more about cellulose insulation.
Dan Lea, CIMA Executive Director
cima@cellulose.org
Filed under: cellulose insulation, Green Building | Tags: cellulose insulation, energy savings, insluation, Retrofit Insulation
Memorial Day. The traditional kickoff of summertime. Our thoughts fade of cold winter months–and many look forward to lower monthly energy bills. But don’t forget that buzzing you will soon hear while sitting on the porch will more often be from air conditioners than cicadas.
The CIMA website activity tends to reflect the public misconception that home insulation is primarily a protection against winter’s colder temperatures. The visitor traffic historically falls off some from late spring through the early summer months as the weather gets warmer. Since much of the nation has colder winter climates it’s natural that as the season changes the focus on energy-efficiency wanes.
This thinking is flawed for two reasons. First, the time to retrofit or increase insulation in a house is not during the colder months. Just as important is the savings that can be realized by having better insulation in the warmer summer months. A well insulated home can save the owner 25 percent or more on cooling bills.
Insulating a home is more like creating a thermos than a blanket. Most people know that they can keep hot things hotter and cold things colder for longer periods of time when they use a thermos. The same goes for insulating a house. No matter whether that house is in Maine or Miami. The benefits of insulation and a tightly sealed home pay huge dividends.
The next time you pack that cooler for a summer picnic or trip to the beach think of your house. If that cooler is high quality chances are there will still be ice frozen inside hours later (if not it’s probably time to buy a new cooler.) You can get that same insulating quality, and excellent savings on energy bills in the summer, in your home.
So think of insulation as a thermos rather than a winter blanket. With the proper insulation a house can keep on delivering energy savings all year round.
Enjoy your summer–and don’t forget that insulation retrofit project!
Dan Lea
CIMA Executive Director
Filed under: Alternative Energy, cellulose insulation, Green Building, green products | Tags: cellulose, cellulose insulation, energy savings, green products, insluation, remodeling, Retrofit Insulation
CIMA awarded the Extreme Insulation Retrofit to a Kentucky couple selected at random in April from the hundreds who visited the online sweepstakes.
(L-R: Jerry Robinson, Robinson Insulation, Russell Buckman, Cell-Pak, Bob Eipert, Bremen Energy Auditors, winners David and Susan Heath
Now, CIMA is blowing the door out of the Extreme Insulation Retrofit winner’s house. Well, to clarify, the air is being blown out the front door in a blower door test to identify air leaks in the home of David and Susan Heath as the first step toward their retrofit.
CIMA producer member David Parr and his team from Cell Pak are making ready to upgrade the 3,000+ square foot home with cellulose insulation. The first step of a proper retrofit is to determine air leaks by a professional energy auditor, says Parr. Cell Pak enlisted the support of Berman Energy Auditors to perform a “blower door” test. The process involves mounting a special high-speed fan in the frame of a main exterior door of a home. The fan pulls air out of the home lowering the air pressure inside and draws in higher pressure outside air through leaks and unsealed openings.
EnergySavers.gov website lists some important reason for establishing the proper tightness and seal of a home:
- Reducing energy consumption due to air leakage
- Avoiding moisture condensation problems
- Avoiding uncomfortable drafts caused by cold air leaking in from the outdoors
- Making sure that the home’s air quality is not too contaminated by indoor air pollution.
One of the best ways to achieve a tightly sealed home is by using cellulose insulation. It offers high R-Values and when properly installed can provide a very tight seal by filling walls and attics to a level that simply can’t be achieved with standard batt insulation. Cellulose fills all the nooks and crannies in attics, seals around HVAC vents, and completely surrounds the plumbing pipes and conduits that are behind the drywall in most house.
The CIMA team prepares the "blower door" to test winners house.
The blower door test results will help the CIMA retrofit team better identify where air leaks are occurring in the Heath’s home. The retrofit will be handled by Robinson Insulation. They will be able to better target where to add insulation to seal up the Heath’s home along with generally improving their overall insulation and R-Values.
We will continue to follow the story here at The Greenest of the Green. The Heaths have agreed to share their home energy bills to allow tracking the improvement pre and post their retrofit. This will be the prize that keeps on giving for years to come in lower monthly bills and potential increased home value. Look for more in the coming months. We also invite you to share your stories about improvements from adding cellulose insulation in your home with a comment on this blog.
Visit CIMA online any time to learn more about the benefits of cellulose insulation.
Filed under: cellulose insulation, Green Building, green products | Tags: cellulose insulation, environment
H
ere at the Greenest Of The Green every day is Earth Day.
No matter what your politics, views or interests, it’s hard to refute the premise that a healthy planet is perhaps the most basic component of human existence. We all depend on the environment here on Earth for the basic sustenance of every species. Finding ways to improve our planet, no matter how small, are important. Some times it’s the simplest ideas that can have the greatest impact.
The concept of turning discarded newspapers into insulation to reduce the energy required to heat and cool our homes and buildings is one of those ideas. And it just makes so much more sense than filling up landfills with paper. It’s also a lot more practical than expending huge amounts of energy to stuff houses full of fiberglass, or to further deplete precious fossil fuels and burn even more energy to produce foam as an insulation.
As people strive to find ever more complex solutions for minimizing threats to the environment we think it’s good to keep this thought from Leonardo da Vinci in mind– “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Turning newspaper into insulation has been around since Jefferson’s Monticello. Cellulose insulation has come a long way since Jefferson packed paper into the walls of his home. It’s a product of the 21st century, but it’s hardly a new idea and is neither trendy nor sophisticated. And it is still the simplest and most efficient way to effectively insulate our homes and buildings while also reducing the corresponding impacts on the planet.
Happy Earth Day.
Dan Lea, Executive Director
Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association.
Filed under: Alternative Energy, Carbon Neutral Housing, cellulose insulation, Green Building | Tags: Alternative Energy, Carbon Neutral Housing, cellulose insulation, climate change, environment, global warming, green house gases, insluation
Whether you believe climate change is a planetary or man-made phenomenon, it’s hard to refute that our world is getting hotter. Even though much of the nation has suffered through a harsh winter, the global thermostat continued to set records at the hot end in 2010.
You don’t have to believe climate change is primarily a man-made phenomenon – or even that there is any substantive evidence it is occurring to any great extent – to know limiting the emissions human civilization dumps into the air just makes sense. The data clearly shows the changes occurring and it only seems logical to take reasonable steps to control (to the extent we can) the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.
Here is some of the latest official US Government information about the state of the climate:
According to NOAA’s State of the Climate Global Analysis Annual 2010 report, last year was the hottest on record. As the debate continues to rage around the world for reasons why, the planetary temperatures appear to be continuing to rise. The effects are scuttle to most of us. But scientists continue to point to the melting of glaciers as a sign of the potential impact if the current warming trends continue.
Governments continue to look for ways to lower the carbon footprint from human activity. International climate treaties, cap and trade programs, carbon sequestration in deep wells and other complicated strategies are proving to be difficult to implement. (See one failed example.)
CIMA and the APA believe there is at least one very easy way to help reduce the carbon footprint—lower carbon home design. Wood provides natural carbon sequestration. Using wood-intensive construction, in combination with cellulose insulation, is an easy way to trap carbon in side houses for the life of the dwelling—providing years and years of carbon sequestration and the potential to lower carbon emissions by millions of tons annually.
In 2010, CIMA joined forces with APA to sponsor the first Carbon Challenge design competition. Designers were invited to submit plans that lowered the carbon footprint of a home based on several criteria, including a new Eco-Calculator designed by the Athena Institute to measure carbon levels for various construction materials. Athena is now completing a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) study comparing the winning design with a home using standard construction materials. A similar Athena study from 2008 in Canada showed remarkable reductions in carbon impacts for a house utilizing wood-intensive construction with cellulose insulation.
We are excited to see the results of this LCA and will be sharing that information here at the Greenest of the Green. In addition to lowering carbon levels, using cellulose insulation adds a wealth of other environmental benefits. To learn more about those, visit cellulose.org.
Sometimes, it’s the simple idea that can have the most profound impact. Cellulose insulation, with its low embodied energy and carbon sequestration potential, is a practical, off-the-shelf approach to dealing with environmental issues. Trapping carbon in new construction isn’t the only answer—it’s just the one that makes the most sense for quick implementation.
Think Green, it’s St. Patty’s Day.
Dan Lea, CIMA Executive Director
