When choosing insulation there are 4 groups to consider they are; loose fill, foam board, Spray on foam and batt and blanket. All has job they are better suited for. Each has good characteristics and bad, with some R factor higher than the others. I will explain the difference between them so you can decide which one suits you.

Spray foam is one type to consider when choosing insulation. The insulation comes in easy to use bottles. It’s sprayed into the area to be insulated. It expands as its sprayed filling all the cracks, giving a better coverage. The initial cost is more, but unlike the others you do not need to winterize later. You will find it in insulated attics and finished walls. It’s the best to use in tight enclosed places.

Cellulose and fiberglass are two types of loose fill. Cellulose can be dry packed or moist sprayed in the area. Fiberglass and rock wool is blown into walls to make a blanket effect. The R factor is R3 or 4 per square inch, cellulose having 30% more. This is often found in Insulated attics.

The third to consider when choosing insulation is loose fill. It too is sprayed inside finished walls and insulated attics. This gives better coverage, air leakage protection and better inside air quality. There are two types’ fiberglass and cellulose. Its R factor is 3-4 per square inch.

When choosing insulation batt and blanket insulation should be considered. This insulation comes in either 8′ sheets or rolls. It’s made from fiberglass or rock wool. It is cheaper per inch. special precautions are needed when installing. This is generally used in unfinished products like walls and insulated attics.

One thing to consider when choosing insulation is flame resistant’s Fiberglass insulation, spray on foam, batt and blanket are flame resist. Cellulose and foam boards are not. In fact foam boards require flame resistant covering like panel or dry wall.

When choosing insulation flame resistance is an important consideration. Two of these are not flame resistant they are: foam board and cellulose.

There are four types to consider when choosing insulation, Batt and blanket, foam board, spray foam and loose fill. Cellulose and the foam board are not flame resistant, the others are. Loose fill and spray foam can be blown into the finished product, the others can’t. All are found in attic insulation and walls.

Although there are many skeptics, who obviously have their own agendas, more and more scientific data and reports come out that seem to suggest that global warming is having a devastating affect on the world.  The average person in the street – you and me - are also worried about the problems facing the environment but are not sure what we can do to make a difference.

More often than not we feel overwhelmed with the enormity of the situation and apathy prevails. The oft quoted “I am only one person what can I do.” can be heard in many homes.

Sure, we try to do our part by recycling in order to reduce our waste but sometimes it feels as if we just aren’t doing enough.  You may not realize it, but it’s through doing the simple things every day that combines to make a huge difference in the state of the environment.  To put this into perspective, just imagine that if everyone worked together to do the simple tasks that only saved a small amount of energy, combined the end result would be a great reduction in global energy usage.  It’s through doing these simply daily tasks that contributes to the bigger picture of energy saving and where the “I am only one person” collective effort makes a huge difference.  This couldn’t be more true an expression than to think globally but act locally.

There are plenty of people who would argue that turning off all of the lights in a room when it wasn’t in use would not make much of a difference.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  If everyone began to turn off the lights in rooms they weren’t using we would see the results.  You may be wondering what kind of impact it would make if all of the houses were to turn off their extra lights and the truth is that you could see up to a twenty five percent reduction in the amount of electricity consumed putting less stress on the grid to produce more energy output.  It’s a vicious cycle, the more demand for energy and the higher the consumption, the more we pay.  By reducing our energy consumption by simply cutting back on our energy use with the things we don’t need, we would save money that could be better used elsewhere.

Just think of it, one quarter of the energy that is being used right now could be cut out if people and businesses worked together to turn off the lights when they weren’t being used.  In comparison, if you were able to cut your monthly bills by one fourth you would see a major impact in your household finances.  This is the same standard by which we can measure the difference it would make to environmental concerns over the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, by the reduction in the amount of total energy usage across the board.  When you look at it this way it is clear that by turning off the lights, one at a time we can work together to make a huge difference.