Energy Control Cellulose Insulation
Highest Savings
"R- Value" (an expression of heat transfer resistance) is the standard for measuring insulation performance. At 3.8 per inch Energy Control cellulose insulation is considerably better than most mineral fiber blowing wools, but R-value is only one factor in the energy efficiency of a home. Studies of actual buildings regularly show that cellulose-insulated buildings may use 20% to 30% less energy than buildings with fiberglass, even if the R-value of the insulation in the walls and ceilings are identical. One reason for this is the capacity of cellulose to stop air infiltration.
ECI fills walls & stops air infiltration better!
Demonstrations using transparent plastic "walls" show the superiority of cellulose in filling existing walls with many fewer gaps and voids than mineral fiber materials.
The fibers of Energy Control cellulose insulation are finer and more flexible than mineral fiber blowing wool. When cellulose is pneumatically installed it takes on almost liquid-like properties that let it flow into cavities and around obstructions to completely fill walls and seal every crack and seam. No fiber glass or rock wool material duplicates this action.
In new construction cellulose insulation can be installed in walls using a spray process or several different dense-pack dry techniques that are also effective at sealing homes against air infiltration.
More Energy Control Cellulose Benefits
Cellulose Makes Home Safer
All residential structures contain large amounts of wood. Cellulose insulation is the only wood-based building material that is always treated for fire retardancy. This makes cellulose insulation one of the safest materials used in home construction.
If a fire occurs, the dense structure of cellulose and its fire retardants slow its spread
through the building by blocking flames and hot gases and restricting the availability
of oxygen in insulated walls and ceilings. Scientists at the National Research Council
Canada report that "cellulose in the wall cavity provided an increase in the fire resistance performance of 22% to 55%." Fire roars right through fiber glass. The NRCC study
showed that "the fire resistance of fiber-glass insulation was slightly lower than that of a
non-insulated assembly."
Tests at Omega Point Laboratories indicated that cellulose in a wall increased fire
resistance 26% to 77%, as compared with an uninsulated wall. Several fire
demonstrations have been conducted in which cellulose-insulated structures have remained virtually intact while uninsulated and fiber glass insulated structures burned to the ground.
The Highest Standards of Any Insulation Material
Today's cellulose insulation is covered by American Society for Testing and Materials Standard Specifications C-739 for loose-fill insulation, C-1149 for spray-applied self-supporting insulation, and C-1497 for stabilized cellulose insulation. Developed and refined over many years through the consensus standard development process of ASTM, the cellulose insulation standards cover several material properties, including:
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Heat transfer resistance (R-value)
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Settled (or design) density
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Critical radiant flux (a measure of surface burning characteristics)
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Smoldering combustion (fire resistance within the insulation layer)
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Corrosiveness
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Odor emission
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Moisture vapor absorption
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Fungi resistance
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Adhesive/cohesive strength (spray-on only)
Energy Control utilizes the laboratories of R and D Services, the premier testing laboratory for the
cellulose insulation industry to ensure that we not only meet, by surpass all of these standards.
Approved Under All Codes
Cellulose insulation is subject to the strict flammability and corrosiveness standards established by the Consumer Products Safety Commision. Federal law prohibits states and local jurisdictions from adopting less stringent requirements for cellulose insulation, but communities can empower building officials to enforce the CPSC standard by placing identical requirements in local building codes.
The International Code Council codes, which have replaced the model codes of Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA), the Southern Building Code Congress International, and the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), require that cellulose insulation must conform with the CPSC standard.
The ICC codes also recognize the fire safety advantages of cellulose by permitting insulation of electrical boxes on opposite sides of fire rated walls, if the boxes are separated by as little 3.5 inches of cellulose insulation. In walls with fiber glass the required separation is 24 inches.
