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How insulation can reduce your carbon footprint in Corning NY

How the Right Insulation can Reduce your Carbon Footprint

Carbon footprint and ecological responsibility are important factors to many people. Others, not so much. It’s a diverse nation and we’re not here to push political viewpoints. But for those interested in reducing their carbon footprint, insulation is one more factor for you to consider. And even if you’re not hefting the Mother Earth flag, you may learn some interesting details about insulation if you follow along in this post.

The idea of reducing your carbon footprint sounds fairly simply, especially when it comes to insulation. Just insulate more and carbon footprint less—right? Well, not exactly. As it turns out, there’s a lot of give and take when it comes to balancing insulation and gas emissions. In fact, there are four main factors that have to be considered: R-value, manufacturing, installation, and post-installation emissions.

R-Value

The R-value of insulation is a number that indicates how well insulation resists the flow of heat. Higher numbers are better, and values for most insulation materials tend to be in the range of 1 – 50.  For example, a common number for wall insulation is R-13, while attic values tend to be R-35 and higher.

It makes sense that a higher R-value means better insulation, and better insulation means lower energy used to heat in the winter and cool in the summer. And, as a consequence, less money disappears from your wallet. It follows easily that better insulation (as defined by its R-value) lowers the carbon footprint of any given structure. There’s no trick here or hidden meaning—better insulation is a direct factor in lowering carbon footprints.

Manufacturing

All right, let’s say you’ve selected the most efficient insulation to upgrade your home, and you’re ready to reduce your carbon footprint by lowering those energy bills. You’re all set, right? Whoa. Don’t jump yet. Did you consider what it takes to manufacture that whiz-bang insulation, and what the manufacturing process might contribute to greenhouse emissions?

That’s right—an excellent choice of insulation from an R-value standpoint could mean a terrible choice from an overall environmental standpoint. Or, to make matters more complicated, the initial environmental impact may be large while the long-term impact may be the reduction of carbon footprint. How’s that?

If the manufacturing process produces greenhouse gases—and most do—then it’s possible that, during a given period of time, more harm is done than good. The key phrase is “during a given period of time.” This discussion can get quite complicated. We’ll try to keep it to basics.

If a huge amount of greenhouse gas is released to produce great insulation, it’s easy to see how that could offset the carbon savings of efficient insulation. But the manufacturing process is a one-time event while the savings from better insulation continues, for all practical purposes, without end. That means the savings from better insulation will eventually offset the problems created by manufacturing. There are differing manufacturing methods for different insulation types, so the payback period varies. It’s beyond the scope of this blog to dive into all the types of manufacturing processes so, for now, just know that there’s more to consider than R-value when your aim is to reduce your carbon footprint.

Installation

What does installation possibly have to do with carbon footprint? More than you might think—much more.

Blown-in insulation—a popular method of installation for attics—uses various gases to propel the insulation into place. And those gases usually have a greenhouse effect. The only question is how much of an effect they have. You may be astounded to find out how bad some of those gases are for the environment.

Here again, we get into offsets. The installation procedure is a one-time event. The savings from efficient insulation keeps going. So, better insulation will eventually offset the harm caused by installation. The question, similar to that with the manufacturing process, is how long is the offset period?

Again, the details of examining every different kind of installation gas is beyond the scope of this post. The important thing to remember is that the very process of installation itself is a contributor to greenhouse emissions. That’s crazy to think about, isn’t it? In order to reduce your carbon footprint you initially have to increase it.

Alas, not all installation gases are equal. The point is—like with the manufacturing process—that you must consider more than just the R-value of insulation when trying to make yourself “carbon small.”

Post-Installation Emissions

Perhaps the one thing that just about no one considers with insulation—whether existing or a new/upgraded installation—is the fact that most, if not all, insulation will emit some amount of gas over time as it either settles or breaks down.

This can make your choice of insulation—and even your choice whether or not to upgrade—a difficult one. Will the new insulation emit more gases than the existing insulation? If so, how much more? If not, how much is the savings? What exactly does the long-term picture look like for emissions—both for the existing insulation and the potential upgrade? Will the emissions change over time?

The answers vary with each location and each type of insulation. This is where you have to pull in an expert to get the right answers. For now, it’s enough to know that post-installation emissions need to be a part of your consideration when selecting new insulation—or deciding whether you should upgrade.

What Does it all Mean?

Your head may be spinning now. The carbon footprint equation is a lot more complicated than you first thought—and there’s a lot more information to uncover than is listed in this overview. So, what do you do now?

Don’t stop here. Dive deeper than this post. Educate yourself—click here for a great place to start. Do some research on the things you learned today. But ultimately, you’re going to want to consult with an insulation professional. All the Internet research in the world is not going to answer all your questions. That would be like trying to self-diagnose a medical condition. You can research your symptoms, but when you’re sick it’s best to go to a doctor.

An inspection by a qualified insulation expert and a consultation with that expert about your concerns and needs is the next step after doing your own background work. At Koala Insulation, our technicians are experts in all kinds of insulation materials and installation techniques. Our experts bring state-of-the-art equipment with them to thoroughly inspect your home or building top to bottom, inside and out. They will give you a detailed assessment of your home. They will design a custom solution to meet your needs, and will consider your concerns and help answer your questions about carbon impact. And since every building is unique, your expert may suggest a combination of installation options to protect your home from cold, heat, moisture, and pests, all while reducing your carbon footprint.

Don’t forget that the investment you make today will reap years of energy-saving benefits. Contact us now to schedule a consultation to start your journey toward higher energy efficiency.