How many of you realize how important your home’s insulation is? Not only does insulation help keep your home’s interior temperature regulated, but it can help reduce sounds between rooms. Where did the idea of insulation come from? How did they figure out what was the best material? Here are a few fun facts about insulation that you might not have known:
- Insulation can be traced back to at least the Middle Ages. Mud and straw were stuffed into the walls to keep out any cold.
- Asbestos translates to “inextinguishable” and originated in Ancient Greece.
- After the harmful effects of asbestos were discovered in the mid-1970s, it was traded for fiberglass insulation.
- A researcher named Dale Kleist created fiberglass by accident. He originally wanted to use a high-pressure jet of air and two pieces of glass to create a vacuum-tight seal.
- If your home lacks insulation, it could easily be losing 60% of its energy.
- The R-value is how insulation is measured. It indicates how resistant the insulation is to heat. It is higher the value, the more insulated your home will be.
- If you’re looking for environmentally friendly insulation, sheep wool, cotton denim, and paper/plant cellulose is a great alternative.
- When we’re talking about “batts” we’re referring to the large blanket pieces of fiberglass.
