Insulation contractors NY. Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx.
Your Home During and After Spray Foam
Spray Foam Insulation Cost - Attic Insulation Costs in NY
Attic Insulation Costs. Spray Foam Insulation; Open Cell $0.40 To $0.65 Per Board Foot, Closed Cell $0.90 To $1 Per Board Foot. What to Know about Home Insulation Costs; Attic Insulation Cost Considerations; Definition of R-Value. Insulation is the best investment you can make in a long-term residence.
Adding insulation is one of the most important steps you can take to improve the energy performance of your home and lessen its environmental impact. Heating and cooling of living spaces consumes 44 percent of all energy used in the home, according to the Department of Energy. Adding a few hundred dollars' worth of insulation can reduce your annual heating and cooling bill 10 to 30 percent. With the average U.S. household spending about $650 per year on heating and cooling, the investment in additional insulation can pay off quickly.
Adding insulation is one of the most important steps you can take to improve the energy performance of your home and lessen its environmental impact. Heating and cooling of living spaces consumes 44 percent of all energy used in the home, according to the Department of Energy. Adding a few hundred dollars' worth of insulation can reduce your annual heating and cooling bill 10 to 30 percent. With the average U.S. household spending about $650 per year on heating and cooling, the investment in additional insulation can pay off quickly.
Foam Insulations
Foam insulations have greater environmental impacts than other types, due to extraction, refining and transport of raw materials such as natural gas and petroleum and the use of ozone-depleting compounds in manufacture. However, they offer some significant benefits that can offset those drawbacks, including higher R-values for a given thickness and improved air sealing of surfaces. Over the lifespan of a home, foams will save more energy per inch of insulation because of these R-values and their durability.
Mineral Wool
Mineral wool is made of strands of minerals, either from abundant rock or the recycled slag from iron-ore blast furnaces. The EPA requires that mineral wool contain at least 70 percent recycled content by weight, second only to cellulose. The proportion of recycled materials in mineral wool can surpass 90 percent; look for high recycled content and ask if you don’t see the information displayed.
Though more expensive than cellulose and fiberglass, mineral wool is more durable and moisture-resistant. It continues to insulate when wet, and it tends to maintain efficiency better under varied conditions. It also has superior flame retardant properties. Available as batts and loose fill, mineral wool can be used anywhere inside the home, though only specially made mineral wool products should be used below grade.
Like fiberglass, mineral wool is very energy-intensive to produce in furnaces, though it requires less energy per R-value than fiberglass. Mineral wool fibers pose no health threat beyond possible short-term respiratory and skin irritation during installation. However, mineral wool may contain up to 5 percent phenol-formaldehyde by weight—more than most fiberglass insulations. This is potentially harmful to indoor air quality, so check a product’s material safety data sheet (MSDS) if you are concerned.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass insulation is made of silica sand and recycled glass, both abundant resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that 20 percent of materials come from recycled sources, either post-consumer or post-industrial, and some products contain up to 40 percent.
Producing fiberglass insulation requires melting the materials in a fossil fuel–burning furnace, which consumes substantial amounts of energy and generates greater amounts of air pollution than the manufacture of other insulation types.
If installed properly, there is little danger of inhaling fibers, which are throat, eye and skin irritants. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration still requires cancer warning labels on fiberglass insulation products, the American Lung Association states that glass fibers are not linked to increased cancer risk, even among glass fiber manufacturing workers.
Fibers can escape into the air during installation—or if ductwork is not sealed properly—becoming a problem for residents. Because of the concern that fiberglass emits phenol-formaldehyde, some manufacturers have switched to nontoxic acrylic binders or have had their products certified by Greenguard as low-emitting products. (A low-emitting product has half of what the EPA considers elevated formaldehyde levels.)
Loose-fill fiberglass seals air spaces best because it is blown in, preventing air movement and heat loss. Low-density batts are most commonly used, but can lose up to 50 percent of their R-value in cold climates due to moisture infiltration. High-density batts cost more, but have a higher R-value; they will pay back the difference in lower energy bills, especially in cold climates.
Cellulose
Cellulose insulation is made primarily from recycled paper. About 75 percent of the material used to make cellulose insulation is post-consumer waste paper, giving it the highest average recycled content of all insulation types. The manufacture of cellulose insulation involves a fraction of the energy use and pollution required to make mineral wool and fiberglass insulation. Additionally, scrap cellulose generated during installation can be reused, cutting down on waste.
Cellulose insulation has no significant effect on indoor air quality. Offgassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained in ink on newspaper waste in cellulose insulation is not a health concern, since some ink is removed while recycling paper into pulp, and much of the ink used is vegetable-based. The amount of boron used as a flame retardant in cellulose is harmful only if ingested.
Cellulose insulation is blown into wall and ceiling cavities, as well as onto attic surfaces, though to stick to attic ceilings, it must be held in by netting or sprayed on wet with an acrylic binder to prevent settling. Like all sprayed or blown insulations, it can be installed into wall cavities through a series of small holes drilled in the wall, causing minimal disturbance during remodeling. It is not suitable for application below grade (below or at the perimeter of the foundation) or in other locations where it would be exposed to moisture.
Cellulose can absorb moisture, decreasing its R-value over time, and if it is exposed to moisture for long periods, it will rot and grow mold. In some instances, a vapor barrier should be installed once the insulation has fully dried (typically in two weeks) to prevent moisture from reaching the insulation. Good sources of information on construction practices that minimize moisture problems are the climate-specific Builder’s Guides available from the Energy and Environmental Building Association.
Loose-fill cellulose typically costs 25 percent less than fiberglass, though installation may be more expensive. Proper installation is important to prevent undue settling. Wet-spray or dense-pack installations are typically more expensive than fiberglass installation. However, installing cellulose installation with these methods is extremely airtight, so the nominal (rated) R-values are more commonly achieved than with fiberglass batts.
Foam insulations have greater environmental impacts than other types, due to extraction, refining and transport of raw materials such as natural gas and petroleum and the use of ozone-depleting compounds in manufacture. However, they offer some significant benefits that can offset those drawbacks, including higher R-values for a given thickness and improved air sealing of surfaces. Over the lifespan of a home, foams will save more energy per inch of insulation because of these R-values and their durability.
Mineral Wool
Mineral wool is made of strands of minerals, either from abundant rock or the recycled slag from iron-ore blast furnaces. The EPA requires that mineral wool contain at least 70 percent recycled content by weight, second only to cellulose. The proportion of recycled materials in mineral wool can surpass 90 percent; look for high recycled content and ask if you don’t see the information displayed.
Though more expensive than cellulose and fiberglass, mineral wool is more durable and moisture-resistant. It continues to insulate when wet, and it tends to maintain efficiency better under varied conditions. It also has superior flame retardant properties. Available as batts and loose fill, mineral wool can be used anywhere inside the home, though only specially made mineral wool products should be used below grade.
Like fiberglass, mineral wool is very energy-intensive to produce in furnaces, though it requires less energy per R-value than fiberglass. Mineral wool fibers pose no health threat beyond possible short-term respiratory and skin irritation during installation. However, mineral wool may contain up to 5 percent phenol-formaldehyde by weight—more than most fiberglass insulations. This is potentially harmful to indoor air quality, so check a product’s material safety data sheet (MSDS) if you are concerned.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass insulation is made of silica sand and recycled glass, both abundant resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that 20 percent of materials come from recycled sources, either post-consumer or post-industrial, and some products contain up to 40 percent.
Producing fiberglass insulation requires melting the materials in a fossil fuel–burning furnace, which consumes substantial amounts of energy and generates greater amounts of air pollution than the manufacture of other insulation types.
If installed properly, there is little danger of inhaling fibers, which are throat, eye and skin irritants. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration still requires cancer warning labels on fiberglass insulation products, the American Lung Association states that glass fibers are not linked to increased cancer risk, even among glass fiber manufacturing workers.
Fibers can escape into the air during installation—or if ductwork is not sealed properly—becoming a problem for residents. Because of the concern that fiberglass emits phenol-formaldehyde, some manufacturers have switched to nontoxic acrylic binders or have had their products certified by Greenguard as low-emitting products. (A low-emitting product has half of what the EPA considers elevated formaldehyde levels.)
Loose-fill fiberglass seals air spaces best because it is blown in, preventing air movement and heat loss. Low-density batts are most commonly used, but can lose up to 50 percent of their R-value in cold climates due to moisture infiltration. High-density batts cost more, but have a higher R-value; they will pay back the difference in lower energy bills, especially in cold climates.
Cellulose
Cellulose insulation is made primarily from recycled paper. About 75 percent of the material used to make cellulose insulation is post-consumer waste paper, giving it the highest average recycled content of all insulation types. The manufacture of cellulose insulation involves a fraction of the energy use and pollution required to make mineral wool and fiberglass insulation. Additionally, scrap cellulose generated during installation can be reused, cutting down on waste.
Cellulose insulation has no significant effect on indoor air quality. Offgassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained in ink on newspaper waste in cellulose insulation is not a health concern, since some ink is removed while recycling paper into pulp, and much of the ink used is vegetable-based. The amount of boron used as a flame retardant in cellulose is harmful only if ingested.
Cellulose insulation is blown into wall and ceiling cavities, as well as onto attic surfaces, though to stick to attic ceilings, it must be held in by netting or sprayed on wet with an acrylic binder to prevent settling. Like all sprayed or blown insulations, it can be installed into wall cavities through a series of small holes drilled in the wall, causing minimal disturbance during remodeling. It is not suitable for application below grade (below or at the perimeter of the foundation) or in other locations where it would be exposed to moisture.
Cellulose can absorb moisture, decreasing its R-value over time, and if it is exposed to moisture for long periods, it will rot and grow mold. In some instances, a vapor barrier should be installed once the insulation has fully dried (typically in two weeks) to prevent moisture from reaching the insulation. Good sources of information on construction practices that minimize moisture problems are the climate-specific Builder’s Guides available from the Energy and Environmental Building Association.
Loose-fill cellulose typically costs 25 percent less than fiberglass, though installation may be more expensive. Proper installation is important to prevent undue settling. Wet-spray or dense-pack installations are typically more expensive than fiberglass installation. However, installing cellulose installation with these methods is extremely airtight, so the nominal (rated) R-values are more commonly achieved than with fiberglass batts.