Fiberglass Insulation
I found this on wikipedia thought it was interesting;
Historically, fiberglass batts became the preferred choice for residential construction in the late 20th century; it is useful to understand how this evolved, as there is no inherent advantage to batts. [Commercial and industrial construction do not use batts.] In the 1970s in response to oil price shocks, many US state governments sought to cut home heating oil usage by increasing building code insulation requirements for all new housing. At the same time, Owens Corning fiberglass lobbied intensively to convince the building officials who wrote and administered the four separate building codes then used in the USA. They also aimed to eliminate other kinds of housing insulation material (such as polyurethane) on safety or hazard grounds. The result was that Owens Corning successfully lobbied for mandatory 2" x 6" (38 x 140 mm actual dimension) wall framing with fiberglass insulation. This suited timber merchants just as well as it suited Owens Corning. Then, given the predominance of non-wind-proof cladding materials, and the prevalence of sleet (wind-blown ice) during the winters of the northern states, a need was created to ensure the whole 140 mm of fiberglass stayed ice-free and dry at all times. Building code officials also made it mandatory to fix and seal wind-and-sleet-proof sheathing under all claddings. This suited the plywood industry very well - which in turn led to the North American development of its now-massive oriented strand board (OSB) industry.
Other insulation materials present advantages in terms of stopping air, moisture migration, and recycling for sustainability not found in fiberglass batts.
I found this on wikipedia thought it was interesting;
Historically, fiberglass batts became the preferred choice for residential construction in the late 20th century; it is useful to understand how this evolved, as there is no inherent advantage to batts. [Commercial and industrial construction do not use batts.] In the 1970s in response to oil price shocks, many US state governments sought to cut home heating oil usage by increasing building code insulation requirements for all new housing. At the same time, Owens Corning fiberglass lobbied intensively to convince the building officials who wrote and administered the four separate building codes then used in the USA. They also aimed to eliminate other kinds of housing insulation material (such as polyurethane) on safety or hazard grounds. The result was that Owens Corning successfully lobbied for mandatory 2" x 6" (38 x 140 mm actual dimension) wall framing with fiberglass insulation. This suited timber merchants just as well as it suited Owens Corning. Then, given the predominance of non-wind-proof cladding materials, and the prevalence of sleet (wind-blown ice) during the winters of the northern states, a need was created to ensure the whole 140 mm of fiberglass stayed ice-free and dry at all times. Building code officials also made it mandatory to fix and seal wind-and-sleet-proof sheathing under all claddings. This suited the plywood industry very well - which in turn led to the North American development of its now-massive oriented strand board (OSB) industry.
Other insulation materials present advantages in terms of stopping air, moisture migration, and recycling for sustainability not found in fiberglass batts.
