Battle of the Insulations!

Probably in no other place is the battle for “the greenest and the best” more intense than on the insulation frontier….and the reason is obvious: most of your heating needs, environmental comfort, and operating expense can be attributed to a well, or poorly, insulated structure.  Some would argue that how you insulate (i.e. sealing) is as important as the insulation selected.  But lately, the battle has heated up on the green side of things as people take into account cradle-to-cradle assessments, production and processing impacts, and even carbon-negative products.

Airstreams have traditionally been insulated by “pink insulation” – or fiberglass insulation – infamous for it’s innate ability to irritate the skin and eyes, it’s low “R-value“, and tendency to be drafty due to poor sealing and installation.  A critical problem with the pink stuff in Airstreams is critter control; critters love to nest in the pink insulation for it’s obvious ease of “reconfiguration”.  In New Mexico, where the GreenStream is based, this problem can be life-threatening due to the hantavirus. And there’s always a clever pack-rat or field mouse who can find their way into to your home, no matter how well sealed. Most importantly, the pink stuff has raised red flags as a potential carcinogen due to its fibrous particles that can get lodged in the lungs (not unsimilar to it’s predecessor, asbestos). This risk may be limited to just the installation period; nevertheless, people are on the hunt for the more environmental, higher R-value product.

The GreenStream and it’s team of reviewers will assess a variety of insulation materials that will showcase the best of green building practices taking into account:

a) the production process (material content and sourcing);

b) product life-cycle (recyclability);

c) thermal performance;

d) cost;

e) weight (the GreenStream will have to carefully consider it’s total renovated load);

f) ease of installation and maintenance;

g) moisture control;

h) fire resistance; and

i) critter control.

Below is the list of insulation products currently being reviewed. We encourage you to comment if you have had particular experiences with these products beyond what may be evident on the cover (i.e. R value, etc).

1) EcoBatt – a more environmentally friendly form of fiberglass insulation

2) SheepBatt – sheep wool insulation

3) UltraTouch – cotton fiber insulation

4) UltraTouch Radiant Barrier – cotton fiber insulation with radiant aluminum side

5) SpaceLoft – nanoporous aerogel blanket insulation used by the aerospace industry

6) ThermaFiber - mineral wool blankets

For the GreenStream’s purposes, insulation may be used in accompaniment with radiant barriers, depending on the location (i.e. floors versus walls).

Contribute your input below!!! We’d love to hear from you.

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