How to Choose Eco-Friendly Insulation

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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A trend in new housing is going "green." With all the concern for the environment, suppliers of building materials now make much of their product eco-friendly. As more and more of these materials become available, the prices are going down and the usage of them are going up. Use these steps to learn more about eco-friendly insulation and how to choose the right one for your house.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Decide on an overall budget. A budget is important in any building project and you should have created one with your contractor before the project began. Often choosing eco-friendly insulation can put a fluctuation in the budget. With a budget for the insulation in mind, it will making shopping and comparing prices easier.

Step2

Ask the builder for recommendations. If your builder has experience with eco-friendly insulation, and you should have hired one that has, then ask them for recommendations before researching suppliers of your own. They may also get a contractor's discount if ordered through their company. Explore all options before purchasing the eco-friendly insulation.

Step3

Look at future energy savings. The future energy savings of using eco-friendly insulation can be significant. Check out eco-friendly living sites, like Low Impact Living, to calculate the potential savings from using eco-friendly insulation opposed to standard fiberglass insulation.

Step4

Evaluate installation costs. Installation costs are going to be additional to those of the product itself. If your builder will not be installing the insulation, make sure to get the installation costs worked into the quote. This cost should also have been worked into your insulation budget in Step 1. All good budgets also have a cushion for mistakes and miscalculations.

Step5

Understand that greener options are usually more expensive. While greener options can tend to be more expensive, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, the prices are coming down as more and more people go green. To help alleviate the costs some energy companies and state and federal governments offer rebates for going green. Also, check with your homeowners insurance to see about premium savings you can get for going green.