So you’re building a new home, or adding an addition, and you want to pursue the most sustainable options available.   Surprisingly, soy and bio-based materials have recently been spotlighted by the green building industry as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional insulation like fiberglass.   Home and Garden TV recently featured a home being sprayed with white goop in between the 2-by-4s of the new walls that expands as it dries.  Soy insulation is apparently safer for human health and for the environment.  It might even cut back on the amount of wood needed for construction, as the substance’s insulating properties are so great.  And, as a biopolymer, soy won’t support the growth of mold or attract hungry critters living in your basement.

With bio-based building products, there is no risk of coming into contact with formaldehydes or VOCs (volatile organic compounds).  It has proven very effective for people with severe allergies. As far as energy efficiency, it has a high thermal insulation capacity to keep heating bills down and fewer resources used for energy generation.

The United Soybean Board is working hard to promote the application of soy in industrial and building projects.  Currently, BioBased Insulation is one of the leading manufacturers of the soy foam insulation that is used in new construction projects.  The product is sprayed on in liquid form, dries and expands up to 100 times its original size, completely filling in all holes and giving your home air-tight protection.

If you’re looking to build up LEED credits, the soy-foam insulation can count significantly towards your certification.  Apply it towards a number of different LEED categories: Energy Efficiency, Low-Emitting Materials, Rapidly Renewable Materials, or Innovation in Design.

Another word about safety—bio-based insulation is virtually fireproof.  It has a class I rating according to the National Fire Protection Association, meaning that it won’t go up in flames.

This article was first published on Build and Rebuild. To continue reading, please view the original post at Soybeans for your Home? Bio-based Insulation.

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• Vegetation Blankets for Green Roofing and More (2)

Looking for earth-friendly way to build walls. Simple. Take a bag and fill it with dirt.  It’s cheap.  It’s simple.  It’s also a versatile and fun green building technology.

Filled with dirt, earthbags lend tremendous thermal mass to stabilize the temperature of the structure.  Filled with lighter material such as rice hulls or vermiculite, they serve as insulation.  What to use for the actual bag?  Affordable propylene sacks offer superior strength and water resistance, and they can even be purchased as recycled grain sacks.

Earthbags lend themselves to both traditional and dome shapes.  Because earthbags can be domed (think igloo-type construction), it’s possible to build without the wood or steel needed for framing or roofing.  Earthbags also promote creativity.  Curvy walls would be pricey in a stick-built home, but they represent no problem for the earthbag builder.

Once the bags are stacked, the structure is covered with plaster, which can also be made from dirt onsite.  Earthbags are suited to building projects of any size.  If you’re considering a small building project such as a shed or root cellar, check out the earthbag possibilities.  This simple technology is accessible to anyone, and the results are surprisingly beautiful.

This article was first published on Build and Rebuild. To continue reading, please view the original post at Earthbags: Building with Dirt.

Additional posts you may be interested in:

• Soybeans for your Home? Bio-based Insulation (1)
• Cradle to Cradle Certification: Sustainability at its Finest (1)
• Vegetation Blankets for Green Roofing and More (2)