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IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS Asbestos Risk Assessment INSULATION INSPECTIONS Asbestos Pipe Insulation Paper Duct Insulation Vermiculite Insulation Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials Balsam Wool Batt Insulation Cotton Insulating Batts Cellulose loose fill insulation Fiberglass Insulation Foam Board Insulation Foam Spray Insulation Mineral Wool/Rock Wool Insulation Perlite Insulation More Information InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map |
This page illustrates and describes how to identify, inspect, and evaluate cotton insulation materials in buildings. This document assists building buyers, owners or inspectors who need to identify various kinds of insulating materials and who need to evaluate the condition of building insulation by simple visual inspection. We provide photographs and descriptive text of cotton insulation and other insulation products to permit identification of these materials in buildings. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. COTTON INSULATING BATTS - Cotton building insulation should not be mistaken for asbestos
Cotton building insulation was sold by the Lockport Cotton Batting Company under the product name Lo-K®. Cotton insulation may have been made, sold, and distributed by other manufacturers or distributors of building insulation in the late 1940's, including Bristol Insulation, Cary Insulation, Insulation Industries, Inc., Janesville Cotton Mill, Sears Roebuck, and Gilman Brothers Co. Cotton insulating batts were installed in many homes in the U.S. from about 1935 to 1950, and this material has recently seen a surge in new interest as a "green" building material.
What is the insulating value of cotton batts?Cotton insulation batts sold as Lockport's Lo-K® ranged in thickness from about 1/2" to 20" and its density ranged from 4.19 to 2991 kg· m-3. The heat transmission of various insulating materials including cotton can be viewed at the NIST website. NIST data shows that cotton insulation had a resistance to heat transfer ranging from 0.025 to 9.1 h· ft2· °F· Btu-1 (depending on the thickness of the product). I'm guessing from the data that this translates into modern "R" values of about 0.5 per inch. Currently marketed cotton insulation costs about 20% more than fiberglass insulation of roughly the same dimensions, and has a lower R value of R 3 to R 4 per inch of cotton insulation compared with an R value of R 5 to R 7 per inch for fiberglass batts. To compare insulating material R-values see our Table of Properties of Insulating Materials Is Cotton Insulation Batting a Green Insulation Building Product?Well sure it is insofar as we're using a natural, grown material rather than an insulation product made from petroleum products (plastics, foams). But "green" is a little tough to pin down. For example, when we evaluate the greeness of cotton insulating batts, the "green" claims we've read did not consider the petroleum product consumption in the production of cotton, the transport of cotton to the insulation producer, nor the effects of use of pesticides and fertilizers. These added complexities confound the environmental claims of lots of products, not just building insulation. The health claim, that cotton produces fewer problem particles than fiberglass sounds reasonable, but a study of the health effects that plagued workers in 20th century cotton mills leaves some questions about this assertion as well, at least for the producers of the product. The fiber release of any insulating product depends a lot on where and how it was installed and on its condition and its exposure to disturbance. Comments and corrections from readers are invited. Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS Technical ReviewersParticular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.
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IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS Asbestos Risk Assessment Asbestos in Good Condition Asbestos in Poor Condition Asbestos Removal, Amateur, Incomplete Asbestos Foamed-Over Asbestos Air Ducts Asbestos Air Duct Vibration Dampers Asbestos Pipe Insulation Asbestos Roofing Materials Asbestos in unusual places Carbon Nanotube Materials Ceiling Tiles Containing Asbestos Fireproofing containing Asbestos Floor Tiles Containing Asbestos Paper Duct Insulation Containing Asbestos Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues Transite Pipe Air Ducts Vermiculite Insulation Containing Asbestos List of Asbestos Containing Products Asbestos Under the Microscope Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials INSULATION INSPECTIONS Asbestos Pipe Insulation Vermiculite Insulation Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials Balsam Wool Batt Insulation Cotton Insulating Batts Cellulose loose fill insulation Fiberglass Insulation Foam Board Insulation Foam Spray Insulation Mineral Wool/Rock Wool Insulation Perlite Insulation More Information InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map Air Conditioning InspectAPedia Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Bias Pledge Contact Us |
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06/05/2008 - 01/07/06 - www.inspect-ny.com/interiors/Cotton_Insulation.htm - Web page design & content © 2007 Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved
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