INSULATION

Since the 1990’s, there has been a push to use petrochemical foam insulations in buildings without evaluating the long term effects of these insulations on both the building, its inhabitants, and the environment.  Building codes have embraced foam insulations and fostered a reliance on them. There have been significant steps forward in recent years with the availability of non-petrochemical based products including insulations like cotton, wool, and wood fiber.  It is very encouraging that we now have domestically manufactured wood fiber insulation, produced in Maine.  I have developed building envelope designs that incorporate these non-petrochemical products and result in passive house standards, healthy environments, and lower embodied carbon buildings.