GreenFiber Cocoon Insulation: Energy Efficiency From Recycled Material (photo: GreenFiber)
One of the simplest ways to improve a home’s energy efficiency and comfort is to make sure that it is properly insulated. Cocoon Insulation from North Carolina-based GreenFiber is a highly efficient insulator, offering more convenient installation and higher R-values than common alternatives, as well as utilizing recycled source material.
Cocoon Insulation is a cellulose material derived from 85% recycled paper products, and Greenfiber operates 11 manufacturing plants throughout the U.S. to maximize its use of locally available materials. Cocoon Insulation is non-toxic and contains no fiberglass or asbestos – which avoids exposing users to irritants, and requires no protective clothing or masks for installation.
Cocoon is a blown insulation, allowing much better coverage in tight, hard-to-reach spaces as well as faster installation times. The blown material adheres to any wood, gypsum, metal or concrete surface. GreenFiber states that by creating a better seal, Cocoon Insulation offers up to 26% better performance than other insulating materials with the same R-value. And because it’s up to three times as dense as fiberglass, an 8” layer of Cocoon provides an R-value comparable to 12” of loose fill insulation.
GreenFiber Cocoon Insulation (photo: Captain Planet Foundation)
GreenFiber’s insulation doesn’t just help maintain temperature. Cocoon is an effective soundproofing treatment as well, effective for use in applications such as a homes near a roadway or airport. And it can significantly improve a structure’s fire resistance as well – Cocoon Insulation is UL-approved for many of the Laboratories’ fire-resistant designs.
Keeping a home comfortable, saving energy, and improving fire safety – and using recycled material to do it. Not bad for a product that most homeowners will never see.
(via GreenFiber & Captain Planet Foundation)
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Right below your statement: “Cocoon Insulation is non-toxic and contains no fiberglass or asbestos – which avoids exposing users to irritants, and requires no protective clothing or masks for installation.” is a picture of an installer wearing a protective mask…..so which do we believe ???? The statement or the picture?
Good question D Puetz -
According the GreenFiber website:
GreenFiber Cocoon Insulation is listed/regulated by OSHA, Cal/OSHA, and ACGIH as “Particulates Not Otherwise Classified” or “Nuisance Dust.”
Therefore, installers may choose to wear a mask if the environment is generally dusty, but the insulation doesn’t contain any substances that require specific protective apparel.
LOL I agree w/ D Puetz. Also how can something derived from paper be fire resistant??
You should always wear a mask when blowing insulation; irregardless of what it is made from. Any airboarn particulates can cause irritation to the sinuses and lungs.
I’ve heard of people with respitory problems from working in cotton mills.
To make it fire resistant it is treated with a chemical; I don’t remember what but they have been doing this with blown in cellulose insulation for years.
I bought a house in Raleigh in Nov.2008 and they used this product in it. It has a great noise reduction quality as my townhouse has neighbors on both sides both with kids and one with a huge surround sound system and I rarely even hear anything from them. Green Fiber also has a website where they build test structures and then burn them to the ground. The first is one with no insulation and it burns to collapse very quickly, the second is one with bat insulation and takes mush longer to collapse, and the 3rd is one with green fiber which stays standing for quite a bit longer. Another advantage to this product over blown insullation is that it has been rated not to settle (a common problem with blown insulation in walls where over time the fibers compress leaving the upper portion of the wall uninsulated).
Any time you’re going to be around a large amount of particulates suspended in the air, it isn’t a bad idea to wear a mask. Even though the material itself isn’t toxic, exposing yourself to it in large amounts in a confined space for long periods of time can give you problems, causing fluid buildup in your lungs and other irritating and potentially dangerous conditions. Think about it like this: you can immerse yourself in pure water and it isn’t toxic at all, but without some method of breathing you’re not going to want to stay under very long or you’ll die.
We just blew this stuff into my attic and it does tend to end up getting all over the place, but it doesn’t seemn toxic (no weird smells, no dead animals or children).
D Puetz makes a great point. It’s probably just a stock photo though.
We’re always looking for new products to offer to our customers, Thanks for sharing.
Does anyone know if there’s a company in the Hudson Valley region in New York State that uses this material for blown insulation?
We used cocoon blow-in insulation when we built our home 5 years ago. Yes, you must wear a mask when installing this product. It is very dusty. We only placed it in our attic, used rolled fiberglass for our walls…..My concern is in the fact that we have a VERY dusty house. My computer overheated last summer and the computer expert stated that the dust build up in the computer was “gray” a dust he had never seen before. Around the light sockets, and light fixtures, a fine gray dust exists. If it can build up in my return air vent filter so that I change it sometimes 2 times a month, then it is filling my home with dust, and my family’s lungs with gray dust..Any suggestions for how to keep this dust from “drifting” down from the attic into our home? I would be interested in any suggestions you may have.
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