Specifiers of construction materials find themselves on the front line of today's environmental struggles. They need to know all the implications of their product selections, both short and long-term. While insulation materials constitute a relatively small part of the overall cost of a building or plant, they determine a disproportionately large share of a facility's long-term environmental impact. Indirect environmental impacts are those which reduce the amount of energy consumed or lost through poorly performing insulation. Environmental Problems Many of the world's environmental problems, including pollution, ozone depletion, acid rain, global warming and waste disposal, can be tied in one form or another to energy consumption.
Thermal insulation plays a significant role in both the consumption and conservation of energy.
The reduction of energy demand through the use of energy-efficient construction practices and insulation ultimately will reduce pollution from the burning of fossil fuels for direct heating and generation of electricity. An effective means of reducing the production of greenhouse gases is the control and reduction of fossil fuel combustion through proper insulation practices. When designing and constructing buildings and plants, careful attention must be paid to both the environmental and economic life cycles of the insulation system. Both the manufacture of building materials and the construction of buildings and plants consume considerable amounts of energy. Specifiers of building materials and construction practices need to ensure that they are selecting efficiently manufactured materials, which will provide optimal performance and maximum service life before needing to be replaced and disposed.