Widely Varied Environmental Impacts from Foam Insulation

Submitted by graham on Fri, 06/25/2010 - 3:27pm

Food for thought: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/avoiding...

Is anyone familiar with Forma Homes panelized structures? ›

Fire Retardant in EPS & XPS

Submitted by graham on Tue, 08/10/2010 - 7:11pm.

Here's more detailed information about what Katy mentioned previously:
http://www.earthcoresips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/18_8-Checklist_-...

Note that they recommend closed cell spray foam as one of the alternatives, neglecting the issue of it's global warming potential...

—

GRAHAM IRWIN
CPBD, CGBP, LEED AP, Certified Passive House Consultant

ESSENTIAL HABITAT
healthy spaces for humans
essentialhabitatconsulting.com

Roxul and Other Availability

Submitted by Mr Insulation on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 5:51pm.

Service Partners Supply in Newark carries Roxul SAFB batts
and may also have, or be able to get, the mineral board.
Their pricing is pretty damn good too. Ask them about the
foam glass.
These are the guys who donated all the insulation for the Blue2 house. They deserve some patronage.

Contact:
Grant Shepard, (707) 291-1490,
Newark warehouse direct, (510) 797-6700

Foam insulation downsides

Submitted by katy on Sat, 06/26/2010 - 6:00pm.

Saw that article... in a nutshell, high-density spray polyurethane and extruded polystyrene (XPS) use blowing agents with very high global warming potential.

Inclusion of fire retardants in most foam insulation products also needs to be considered-

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/community/forum/green-products-and-m...

For insulation panels, I like rockwool, and then polyiso (when the vapor barrier aspect isn't a concern). Too bad we don't have foamglas here for subslab. Wonder about using polyiso... have never spec'd it or seen it done, but here's some interesting info on that-

http://www.inspectapedia.com/Energy/Insulation_Polyisocyanurate_Slab.htm

—

Katy Hollbacher, P.E.
Civil Engineer, Passive House Consultant, GreenPoint Rater
www.beyondefficiency.org

We DO have FoamGlas

Submitted by graham on Sat, 06/26/2010 - 6:34pm.

Insul-Therm out of Sacramento has is: http://www.insultherm.com/

—

GRAHAM IRWIN
CPBD, CGBP, LEED AP, Certified Passive House Consultant

ESSENTIAL HABITAT
healthy spaces for humans
essentialhabitatconsulting.com

FoamGlas availability & cost

Submitted by katy on Sun, 06/27/2010 - 10:03am.

Very cool--thanks! Do you know where Insultherm sources their product? Have you priced it; do you have any ballpark cost ranges? Now that i think about it, didn't the team look into foamglas for Blue2 and find it would have cost multiples more than XPS?

—

Katy Hollbacher, P.E.
Civil Engineer, Passive House Consultant, GreenPoint Rater
www.beyondefficiency.org

Haven't shopped it

Submitted by graham on Sun, 06/27/2010 - 10:23am.

Katy,

I don't know about cost, I haven't shopped it. I do know that a number of these products are becoming more available by the day, for instance, Roxul (rock wool) insulation is now distributed on the West Coast: http://www.primesourcebp.com/

I think for a while we're going to be dealing with a changing market, so it's probably worth checking prices for each project to evaluate. After the report on XPS (above) I am strongly inclined to seek an alternative.

—

GRAHAM IRWIN
CPBD, CGBP, LEED AP, Certified Passive House Consultant

ESSENTIAL HABITAT
healthy spaces for humans
essentialhabitatconsulting.com