Summary: 1) Most homes are poorly insulated. 2) Continuous exterior insulation is the best way to insulate a home, though most builders don’t do it. 3) The carbon footprint of some insulation materials will never be offset by their energy savings. 4) Marigold uses best insulation practices and materials, leading to a noticeable level of comfort and efficiency.
If you’ve read my previous posts about heating, air conditioning, and fresh air systems, you’ve learned about my strange passion for thermodynamics and heat transfer (you’ve also hopefully learned a thing or two about these systems). In this post, I’ll discuss an equally important (and misunderstood) component of home comfort, energy efficiency, and health: insulation.
[F]or 21 hours and 36 minutes a day you are stuck in a controlled climate
Before you click away in search of something more interesting, think about this: Americans spend 90% of their time indoors. 90%! That means that for 21 hours and 36 minutes a day you are stuck in a controlled climate. The good news is that we have the capacity to control that climate effectively. The bad news is that most houses do a bad job of it. In the world of studio sheds and back yard offices, it’s even worse.
Insulation can be a tough sell. You don’t see it. You don’t touch it. You don’t hear it. In fact, you never really interact with it at all. It’s just this invisible thing that homeowners take for granted and don’t really ever think about. Compounding this is the fact that real estate agents have a tendency to focus on selling points such as marble countertops and built-ins while altogether ignoring the quality of the build (more on that here). In a world of beautiful social media posts showcasing the latest trends in interior design and aesthetics, it’s hard for humble insulation to compete for your attention. Which is too bad, since insulation has a bigger impact on your overall experience inside a home than countertop and flooring choices.
Insulation is perhaps the most misunderstood component of a home. Different climates have different insulation needs and newer, better materials have been developed over the past few decades. Because of this, over time builders from one climate move to another and bring along their previous method of insulating. Something that worked in a dry, cold climate like Colorado doesn’t work in a hot, humid climate like Louisiana. Similarly, older generations give outdated (and often misguided) advice to young trades. I’ve witnessed this too many time to count. A young framer or insulation installer uses incorrect methods and materials because it was taught to him by an older tradesman from a different climate.
So let’s bust some myths.
Myth 1: Houses Need to Breathe. You can read an entire post about that topic here, but in a nutshell the opposite is true. You should actually build a house as airtight as possible and provide mechanically controlled fresh air instead. Why? For one, if a house “breathes,” air is moving in and out of wall cavities constantly, which introduces all kinds of nasty things into the inside air that you breathe (like fiberglass particles from the cheap insulation inside most walls). Secondly, if air is constantly being pulled into wall cavities, the chance of mildew, mold, and rot increases.
Myth 2: Insulation is “Greenwashing” or Some Kind of Government Conspiracy. While I wish I didn’t have to address this, I’ve heard it more and more since 2016. Luckily we can follow the science to find that in actuality insulation not only makes your home more comfortable and saves you money on energy bills, it is also an easy (and essential) way to fight climate change.
Myth 3: Standard insulation is just fine. This is simply not true. Sadly, it isn’t until you walk into a house (or Space) that is extremely well insulated that you realize just how poorly insulated most structures are. The difference in comfort is immediate and palpable. And I can’t say this enough: Those really cool looking backyard studio sheds that you see online for startlingly low prices? They are just glorified sheds that are so poorly insulated you wouldn’t spend much time in them.
Spaces by Marigold 
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