I’ve spent the last 20 years steadily renovating what had been an extremely leaky, cold 1830s farmhouse into the energy efficient, comfortable home it is today. The use of high-quality closed-cell spray foam in my walls, roof and basement has played a vital and highly successful role in this.
The summary recommendations from your article I do not believe are supported by any industry consensus, and amount to a hatchet job on an industry that has and will continue to play an important role in driving energy efficiency improvements well into the future.
Moisture in buildings can and always will be a problem, and the lack of an adequate vapor barrier will translate into moisture to accumulate in wall cavities — with accompanying rot, whether the insulation being used is open cell foam, cellulose, fiberglass, or old burlap sacks, which had been stuffed into some of my wall cavities pre-renovation.
Shoddy workmanship is shoddy workmanship, and the vastly lower potential for moisture issues, and higher insulation value, is what led me to closed cell foam.
In any renovation project, there is an inherent need to actively manage moisture and air quality in any house that has had significant air-sealing done (again, regardless of insulation material). The seeming suggestion that we simply live with old, drafty houses is misguided.
Likewise the dismissal of foam as a “fossil fuel” product, with apparently zero consideration that every other insulation product has embedded carbon in the manufacturing, transportation and installation process, is misleading at best.
One of the things I’ve always appreciated about VTDigger is its balanced reporting on a range of issues vital to our state, and this article missed that mark by a mile.
Matt Wormser
Shelburne