A New Cotton Insulation Enters the Market

Applegate Insulation has just introduced a new cotton batt insulation: Mr. Insulate. Photo: Applegate Insulation. Click on image to enlarge.

Over the years, there have been as many as three cotton insulation manufacturers, but for the last several years there has only been one: Bonded Logic, which makes UltraTouch batt insulation, along with duct insulation and sound-control panels. I visited the Bonded Logic plant in 2009 and wrote a blog about it.

Now there is another. Michigan-based cellulose insulation manufacturer Applegate Insulation has just introduced the Mr. Insulate line of cotton batt insulation. Like Bonded Logic's UltraTouch, Mr. Insulate is made from pre-consumer recycled cotton fiber (waste mostly from the manufacture of denim clothing) with some polyester fiber added to aid in loft or spring-back. It is available in 3-1/2-inch and 5-1/2-inch thick unfaced batts. Rated insulating values are R-13 for the thinner batts and either R-19 or R-21 for the thicker batt (depending on density). Like UltraTouch, fire resistance with Mr. Insulate is provided with a mix of boric acid and ammonium sulfate. Applegate's MSDS claims a maximum of 5% boric acid and 6% ammonium sulfate.

There are two differences between Mr. Insulate and UltraTouch.

First, Mr. Insulate batts are slightly narrower than UltraTouch batts, which may mean a cleaner fit in standard wall cavities. The 93"-long batts are either 14.75" wide for 16-inch on-center framing, or 22.75" for 24-inch on-center framing. (UltraTouch batts are 16.25" and 24.25" wide, respectively, which necessitates some compressing to fit into standard wall cavities. You can read about Tristan Robert's frustrations with the wider batts in his 2008 blog about it.)

Second, according to Dave Renbarger, the national sales manager for Mr. Insulate, their cotton batts are much easier to cut. "You can tear it with your hands in one direction and cut it in the other," he told me. While I haven't yet received a sample and tried cutting it, this is potentially a big advantage. UltraTouch has been a challenge to cut--as described in Tristan's blog. Like Tristan, I too have been frustrated with my experiences cutting UltraTouch batts.

Dimensions and properties of Mr. Insulate cotton insulation. Table: Applegate Insulation. Click on image to enlarge.

All in all, this sounds like a great product. The oddest thing about it doesn't actually have to do with the insulation at all--but rather, the politics espoused by the manufacturer. I don't have too big a problem with the strong religious statements sprinkled throughout the Applegate and Mr. Insulate websites, but the "other useful links" give me some pause.

Along with links to such right-wing organizations as the Hudson Institute, Heartland Institute, Gun Owners of America, the Conservative Caucus, and National Center for Policy Analysis, you can conveniently download a (somewhat dated) petition urging the United States to reject the Kyoto climate change treaty. And there's a link to a fascinating paper "Global Warming: Man-Made or Natural?" by Professor S. Fred Singer, Ph.D., in which he argues that "Human activities are not influencing the global climate in a perceptible way," and "...should it occur--a modest warming would be on the whole beneficial."

According to the manufacturer, Mr. Insulate cotton insulation can easily be cut with a utility knife. Photo: Applegate Insulation. Click on image to enlarge.

Beyond the irony of one of the leading manufacturers of cellulose (and now cotton) insulation arguing against taking action to address climate change, I'm just not sure how smart it is for a green insulation manufacturer to push such a strong political agenda that many of its users might not agree with. Maybe it's just me....

For more information:

Mr. Insulate

Eastanollee, Georgia

855-626-8866

www.mrinsulate.net

Applegate Insulation, Inc.

Webberville, Michigan

800-854-1907, 517-521-3445

www.applegateinsulation.com

Alex Wilson is the executive editor of Environmental Building News and founder of BuildingGreen, Inc. In addition to contributing to this product-of-the week blog, he writes the weekly Energy Solutions blog. To keep up with his latest articles and musings, you can sign up for his Twitter feed.

See more on this product in the GreenSpec Guide