Alex Wilson - Insulating Materials for a Livable World - Amazon Web

73 Pages·2014·4.29 MB·English

Insulating Materials for a Livable World
ADPSR
Better Envelope
Solutions
San Francisco
March 19, 2014
Alex Wilson, Founder
BuildingGreen
Cork insulation being
installed in Vermont
Photo: Alex Wilson
Importance of insulation
 Insulation is good
– We want a lot of it
– Used to argue the more
the better
– From GWP standpoint,
sometimes more harm
than good
 In colder climates
– R-10 under floor slab
– R-20 foundation walls
– R-40 above-ground walls
– R-60 ceilings
Passive House
in Palo Alto , CA
Photo: Alex Wilson
Long-term performance and
durability
 Moisture dynamics
 Can be pretty
complicated!
 Decomposition and decay
 Not only of the
insulation, but other
components
 Fire resistance
 Issue in some
situations
 R-value drift
 Only an issue with
insulation using low-
conductivity gas fill
Source: Eric Daub
Environmental considerations with
insulation materials
 Tremendous variety of
insulation materials
– Widely different forms,
properties,
environmental
characteristics
 How do we evaluate
insulation materials
relative to the
environment?
 What makes one
material better than
another?
Spray-applied soy-based polyurethane
 Relates to both the
Photo: BioBase
material and the
application
Hazardous constituents –
Global Warming Potential (GWP)
 Insulation saves
energy—and thus
carbon emissions
 But the insulation
also has GWP
associated with it
 From embodied
energy (all mat’ls)
 Far greater GWP in
the blowing agents
of extruded
polystyrene (XPS)
and most closed-cell
spray polyurethane
Net-zero-energy house with 4” XPS wrapped around
foam
2x6 walls with cellulose. Photo: Bensonwood
Blowing agents in foam insulation
Global Warming Potential
of insulation materials
June 2010 Environmental Building News
Hazardous constituents
 Halogenated
flame
retardants
 Styrene
 Isocyanates
 Formaldehyde
 Fiber shedding
 Mold and
mildew

Tom Lent to cover
12” of XPS used in passive house foundation
Jordan Dentz photo
Insulation and the waste stream
 Raw materials
 Recycled content
 Recyclable?
 Can old insulation be
recycled into new
insulation – or
something else?
 Very limited options
today
 Safe disposal
 Release of
environmental or
health hazards Charlotte, NC landfill
 Especially blowing
agents
Embodied energy and carbon
 Energy to make and
transport the stuff

Larry Strain to cover

Inventory of Carbon &
Energy, Univ. of Bath,
Sustainable Energy
Research Team