Made from consumer paper products, cellulose insulation typically contains about 85 percent recycled content. Using this green building material can effectively lower the carbon footprint of your home or business property. Essentially, this is because cellulose insulation is plant cell matter that is still storing the carbon sequestered when it was alive.
Responsible management of the US forestry industry has led to a sustainable supply of planted trees, which are a highly renewable resource for both building and paper products. Combining this with the huge success enjoyed by the US recycling industry, makes cellulose insulation one of the top green building materials on the market today.
Cost-Effective, Easy, and Efficient Energy Savings
Adding extra insulation up in an attic is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to improve a home’s energy efficiency. Insulating power of up to R-49 can be achieved in an attic with additional cellulose insulation blown in. This is the best place to start when looking for an inexpensive but significant energy savings, since a building loses most of its energy through the roof.
Cellulose is treated with a natural, non-toxic borate product that is a Class I fire-retardant. This makes it highly undesirable to bugs and rodents, as well as resistant to mold and fire. And, although the job is dusty, installing this insulation is not difficult, even for the average homeowner.
There is virtually no waste or excess material left over from an installation job, either, because it is fully recoverable. The unused and swept up material is simply returned to the bag.
Thomas Jefferson was the First Architect to use Insulation
The word cellulose combines the French words, “cellule,” meaning “living cell,” and “glucose,” meaning sugar. Cellulose is one of the oldest insulation materials. The European Cellulose Insulation Association (ECIA) quips, “In its simplest form, insulation began when the first cavemen shielded themselves from the elements.”
Cotton, straw, hemp, corncob, sawdust, cardboard, and newspaper are all cellulosic materials that can be used for insulation. “In the United States,” reports ECIA, “the first architect who used insulation was Thomas Jefferson in his design of Monticello. And the insulation he used was cellulose.”