Plumbing, HVAC, Electric, Insulation

I have been horrible about the updates. Partially, I didn't really feel like posting photos of the mechanicals because they just aren't that exciting. I mean a well plumbed house is exciting to me but maybe not to everyone. Besides it isn't until drywall is up that the house really starts taking shape.

We passed all of our rough inspections with no problem. The inspectors only asked that we add small items here and there. Once all the inspections were complete I scheduled to have the house insulated. After a long and hard debate we ended up going with fiberglass. We were at one point going to insulate with the spray foam. But it turns out to be about 3 times the cost of fiberglass and it has the same R value per inch. The foam guys would argue that since they make the house airtight it actually makes their product more efficient. However, what they don't tell you is that once the house is airtight you have to start bringing in fresh air from the exterior. This can be done cheaply however you are then bringing "unconditioned" air into the living space and effectively negating the efficiency of the insulation. So, the right way to do it is to bring exterior air into the home through an HRV (heat exchange ventilator) or ERV (energy recovery ventilator) The HRV is used primarily in northern climates whereas the ERV is for hotter and more humer southern climates. In any case, one of these modules will end up costing upwards of $2,000. So, let me break down the math. The spray foam was quoted to us for $12,000 to insulate the entire house. Add in the HRV and its installation for another $3500. Compare that to high density fiberglass which was quoted at about $3,500 for the entire house, requires to additional HVAC modifications and is tried and tested method of insulating. While the foam is more efficient one doesn't really reap the energy saving and recoup the cost of installation unless they stay in the home for five years or more.

I can't really tell yet if fiberglass is the devil. I have been researching and can really only determine that every product whether green or not always bashes their competition. And it is actually kind of difficult to find any objective information. For instance, there are millions of dollars in studies that have been done on fiberglass insulation. However, most if not all of these have been subsidized or underwritten by one of the major manufacturers of fiberglass such as Owens Corning or Johns Manville. I'm also not sure if I care. The reason being that sometimes economics trump principles. It would have been nice to have spray foam but we just can't afford it when taking into consideration the costs of the entire project. That's the unfortunate part about trying to build "green" is that it is pretty much cost prohibitive unless you do the project peice meal or don't care if you ever recoup the costs of the materials. Or to put it another way, I don't give a shit about green insulation if it means sacrificing my flat screen TV. My programs are more important than my gas bill. Seriously, they are....