Why Cellulose Insulation? Double click to view in a new window these videos, courtesy of
National Fiber®.
This news segment featuring National Fiber, the benefits of cellulose insulation and the process of its production aired regionally and nationally on CNN and FOX.
In this video, they expose a mocked up wall, one side insulated with cellulose, the other with fiberglass, to the flame from a 400,000-Btu torch. While both products have a Class A fire rating, their performance is very different. The cellulose quickly chars and protects what is behind it, while the fiberglass melts.
Cellulose has a very high STC (Sound Transmission Coefficient) rating, and does an excellent job reducing airborne sound. In this video, they show you how cellulose and fiberglass compare in their ability to make your home a quieter, more comfortable place to live.
This video demonstrates how effectively cellulose helps prevent air infiltration in your home or commercial building.
Insulation
To maintain comfort in your home, the heat lost during a Long Island winter must be replaced by your heating system, and the heat gained in summer must be removed by your air conditioner. Insulating ceilings, walls and floors decreases this heat flow by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat. Choosing a Long Island Insulation Contractor that is also a leader in building science assures you of a job done right!
You need insulation in your Long Island home to provide resistance to heat flow. The more heat flow resistance your insulation provides, the lower your heating and cooling costs.
Heat flows naturally from a warmer space to a cooler space. In the winter, this heat flow moves directly from all heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics, garages, basements and even to the outdoors. Heat flow can also move indirectly through interior ceilings, walls and floors—wherever there is a difference in temperature. During the cooling season, heat flows from the outdoors to the interior of a house.
An insulation's resistance to heat flow is measured or rated in terms of its thermal resistance or R-value. A great example of what R-Value is can be easily demonstrated by comparing a Styrofoam coffee cup to a paper one. Fill both with boiling water and you can hold the Styrofoam cup, while the paper cup is too hot to handle. This is because the Styrofoam cup has a higher R-Value.
Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can usually reduce your energy bills, often drastically, by adding more insulation. Many older Long Island homes have less insulation than homes built today, but adding insulation to a newer home may also pay for itself within a few years.
Fiberglass batt insulation is the most common type of insulation found in today's Long Island homes. The problem with fiberglass is that a perfect installation is critical, and there are very few perfect installations. A typical 1970s home had 6-inch fiberglass insulation installed, which carries an R-Value of 19. Unfortunately, the framing of the house has a lower R-Value than the insulation, so the effective R-Value of a "good" installation is lowered to R-15. If there are gaps over just 2.5% of the area (a "fair" installation), and R-Value falls to R-11, gaps over just 5% of the area (a "poor installation") and effective R-Value plummets to R-4. Unfortunately, most installations are "fair,” many are "poor" and only a few are "good.”
Long Island's Murtha Insulation recommends the use of blown-in or dense packed cellulose insulation, as opposed to fiberglass batts.
- Cellulose Insulation saves you more on your heating and cooling bills – up to 40% more than fiberglass.
- Cellulose has a local recycled content of 82%+. Fiberglass has less than 35% and sprayed foam insulations have nearly zero.
- Cellulose takes 750 Btu per pound to manufacture, vs. 12,000 Btu’s/lb. for fiberglass and up to 40,000 Btu/lb. for foam insulations.
- Cellulose is made in locally, which means lower emissions, as the insulation travels fewer miles before it gets to your home. Our insulation comes from Allentown, PA which is only 145 miles from Long Island.
- Cellulose insulation can be blown in attics, which always results in a "good" installation.
- Cellulose can be densely packed in walls, which allows easy retrofit and eliminates settling issues commonly associated with wall installations.
- Cellulose is treated with borate, a naturally occurring and proven safe mineral (think borax soap), which provides a "Class A" fire rating.
Of course, there is no single insulation that works in every application. In addition to cellulose, Murtha Insulation also uses Fiberglass batts, Fiberglass blankets, high- and low-density spray foam as well as other insulation products as conditions dictate. We prescribe the correct insulation for the application, not the insulation we have in stock!
Common areas to add insulation include:
- Attic floors
- Knee walls (vertical walls in an attic)
- Exterior walls
- Garage ceilings
- Basement walls
- HVAC ducts
- Rim joists
- Overhangs
Choosing the correct insulation to match the application and installing the insulation correctly are critical. Murtha Insulation is one of Long Island's premier insulation contractors. Contact us or get started by Requesting an Energy Audit to be assured of a job done right! Murtha Insulation is the premier Long Island Insulation contractor.
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