What are the benefits of rock and slag wool insulations?

Rock and slag wool insulation products play a significant energy-savings role by reducing energy use in homes, office buildings, businesses and manufacturing plants. Insulating to proper economically efficient levels helps our homes and businesses use substantially less energy. According to a 1996 report on the energy, environmental and economic benefits of fiber glass, rock wool and slag wool insulations, conducted jointly by the Alliance to Save Energy and Energy Conservation Management, insulation produced each year saves about 400 trillion Btu annually, or more than 12 times the energy used to manufacture insulation.

The "Green and Competitive" report found that current levels of fiber glass, rock and slag wool insulation also help cut residential energy bills by 40 percent. The energy savings from insulation also help the environment. By reducing the energy needed to heat and cool homes and commercial buildings, installed fiber glass and mineral wool insulation in U.S. buildings helps prevent the emission of over 1.56 trillion pounds of carbon dioxide annually. The report goes on to say that if all residential buildings were insulated up to the latest version of the CABO Model Energy Code, another 2.2 quadrillion Btu of energy could be saved and another 294 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions avoided annually.