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CertainTeed Replaces The Notorious InsulSafe III With InsulSafe 4
The
Current State
A new generation of
fiberglass is available and there was hope that improvements might have
been made to the new products.
It has long been known that properly installed fiberglass loses up to 50% of it’s effectiveness under certain conditions(1) and that in 79% of homes it isn’t even installed properly(2). For years, insulation contractors have confirmed that fiberglass is very susceptible to fluffing (pumping the insulation full of air during installation), and have urged fiberglass manufacturers to improve the performance of their products. InsulSafe III - “The Fluffers’ Delight”(3)
The national association of insulation contractors eventually became so frustrated with fiberglass manufacturers that they decided to conduct their own independent tests to determine the “fluffability” of fiberglass. The Insulation Contractors Association of America conducted over 800 tests, 234 of these were on InsulSafe.(4) The result? Confirmation that fiberglass is extremely susceptible to fluffing and losing it’s R-value. In particular, InsulSafe III was found to be “the fluffers’ delight”.(5)
“The InsulSafe tests showed 15% average overblow with some tests as high as 40%.”(6)
This vividly demonstrated that fiberglass - especially InsulSafe III - desperately needed to be improved if it was to deliver the performance promised to homeowners.
The
Problem:
Density Fiberglass’ problems are simple: too much air and too little
(fiberglass) insulation. And they can be solved easily: install denser
fiberglass that contains less air.
When there is too much air in the insulation, convective air currents can move freely through the fiberglass and can diminish the R-value by up to 50% under certain conditions.
New
InsulSafe 4
CertainTeed has known for many years that InsulSafe III allows easy air
movement and that higher density InsulSafe would help reduce the
problem. Many in the industry hoped that CertainTeed would remedy the
problem with an improved product. Years passed without any action.
Finally, CertainTeed announced InsulSafe 4 and there was hope.
Even
Worse Than InsulSafe III!
But insulation
contractors, builders, and building scientists were dismayed to learn
that InsulSafe 4 is actually less dense than InsulSafe III! How can this
be? CertainTeed knows there is a problem. They know how to fix it. But
they made it worse!
Who benefits from a fluffier InsulSafe? Not the homeowner. Not the builder. Only CertainTeed benefits by claiming that an attic can be insulated with even less fiberglass than before. In other words, they are saying that homeowners can get the same R-value by using even less of their product, when they know the performance wasn’t there in the first place.
Unwitting buyers who compare bids for various products at the same R-value will not realize that InsulSafe 4 may suffer the same significant loss of performance that plagued InsulSafe III.
The
Solution: Cellulose Insulation
The graph to the top
right clearly shows why insulation products like Applegate Stabilized
outperform blown fiberglass - they are much more dense and resist air
movement.
The same research that uncovered the severe performance degradation of fiberglass was performed on cellulose. The result? Cellulose holds it own! In fact, cellulose “allows no convective patterns to develop” and its “R-values increased” during cold weather testing. Cellulose is “immune to the problem”.
For new homes, the choice is clear: cellulose insulation. But what about existing homes insulated with loose-fill fiberglass? The researchers found another striking reaction. Covering the fiberglass with cellulose not only adds the R-value of additional insulation, it stops the convective air movement and helps restore the fiberglass’ lost R-value!
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For more information on getting the R-value you pay for or for
additional copies of this article, please call: 800-627-7536 or email: CIJournal@aol.com
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Sources (1) Energy Design Update, “Loose-Fill Fiberglass Versus
Cellulose in Cold Attics”,. (2) Insulation Contractors Report,
“Independent Investigation Urges Adjustments in Attic Coverage
Charts”, . (3) Energy Design Update; “Blowing Wool ‘Fluffability’”;
(4-6) Ibid. InsulSafe III and (4) densities from CertainTeed Corp.
Cellulose Stabilized density from Applegate Insulation.
In a Nutshell...