Drew Maran
Drew Maran Construction/Design, Palo Alto, Calif. There are plenty of green insulation alternatives available for builders who shy away from using fiberglass batts, and custom builder/green building consultant Drew Maran has tried many of them. Maran primarily uses U.S. GreenFiber's Cocoon insulation, a sprayed-in stabilized cellulose product made from a minimum of 80 percent recycled post-consumer paper. The rest of the product consists of fire retardants and a stabilizing adhesive that prevents settling after application. Water is used as the blowing agent. Cocoon creates a monolithic blanket in the wall cavity, sealing off air infiltration and providing an R-value of 3.7 per inch.

Because cellulose insulation does not require a layer of circulating air, Maran finds Cocoon “extremely effective, especially in vaulted or cathedral ceilings where you may not need to ventilate the space,” he says. Creating an airspace around fiberglass insulation takes more time and effort than using cellulose, Maran says. Plus, cellulose insulations do not contain any formaldehyde.

Maran also uses Icynene spray-foam insulation and Bonded Logic's Ultra Touch cotton-fiber insulation batts, which are made from recycled denim fibers and achieve a Class-A fire rating.

U.S. GreenFiber. 888.592.7684. www.cocooninsulation.com.

Icynene. 800.758.7325. www.icynene.com.

Bonded Logic. 480.812.9114. www.bondedlogic.com.