Sheep’s wool insulation is green
By Susan Wilson
No not the color green but the renewable resource green. Like cellulose and cotton insulation, sheep’s wool is a renewable resource with a twist. Cellulose insulation recycles paper and cotton insulation recycles the bits of blue jean material that would normally be tossed in the trash. Sheep’s wool insulation is naturally renewable because sheep grow new coats yearly.
Sheep’s wool insulation is made from wool that isn’t usable in any other capacity. Good Shepherd wool insulation makes both “ropes” and “batts” out of sheep’s wool for insulating homes. The ropes are used as insulation primarily in log homes where the ropes are used to insulate between the logs. Ropes can also be used around windows and doors in any house.
Batts are used as insulation in the notches of log homes and for general insulation in walls, floors, and ceilings of timber and frame homes. Sheep’s wool batts resemble fiberglass insulation batts during installation. They look very similar and are pressed into the opening between struts and held in place by friction.
Unlike fiberglass, you don’t have to worry about sheep’s wool insulation cutting into you or getting in your lungs. With sheep’s wool insulation, you don’t need special gloves, clothing or a mask to install it. Another excellent feature of sheep’s wool insulation is that it is totally recyclable.
Sheep’s wool naturally resists insects and decay. According to Ecologhouse, Borax is used to make the wool insulation more resistant to insects and to make it fire retardant.
Sheep’s wool insulation can also break down toxins within the home. The company Sheep Wool Insulation reports that formaldehyde, which is found in many materials such as timber and carpeting, can be absorbed and broken down by sheep wool insulation. Formaldehyde has been labeled by both the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a carcinogen.
Loft sheep’s wool insulation can most easily be found in New Zealand, Ireland and the UK. Good Shepherd is a Canadian Company and Sheep Wool Insulation is looking for partners to open a factory in the U.S.
A new type of sheep’s wool insulation has been produced in Germany called WEKA insulation panels. The product is made by WEKA Homestead and is listed by Builder News as one of the best products of 2008. A production facility should be opening in Pennsylvania in the near future.
WEKA insulation panels take the place of insulation and drywall. The panels can be directly attached to current walls and don’t need a drywall coating. The panels easily fit together leaving no gaps between panels. The panels are mold and bug resistant. Like all sheep’s wool insulation, the panels can absorb and release moisture in the air.
Like all products there are pros and cons to using sheep’s wool insulation. Good to be Green lists the environmental pros and cons of using sheep’s wool to insulate.
Pros:
-
- Sheep’s wool is a natural material, is fully biodegradable and recyclable.
- Sheep’s wool uses very little energy in its production into insulation batts (pads)
- Sheep’s wool is naturally resistant to insects and decay.
- Sheep’s wool is sound absorbent, inherently moisture tolerant (without losing thermal efficiency) and also has the ability to soak-up and neutralize harmful toxins such as nitrogen oxide.
- Has an R-value of approximately 2 – 3.5
- Cons:
One final con it the cost of sheep’s wool insulation. Because of its relative scarcity, it is one of the most expensive types of insulation to use. However, Sheep Wool Insulation Ltd, in Ireland has a “comfort” line of sheep’s wool insulation that is 40 percent less than other lines that they carry.
Hopefully sheep’s wool insulation will become more prevalent and lower in price.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 6:20 pm
under
Read more entries by Susan Wilson.
Stumble It!
February 23rd, 2009
I dispair at well intentioned idiots promoting wool as an alternative to modern insulation that we need to save our planet. Sheep are an environmental disaster and should be limited to the number we have now, providing necessary food and a luxury textile. They need a lot of land and give off lots of methane. I can’t say more as I work in the chemical industry and you all think we are biased. I just want a planet my kids can inherit in good shape – and that means good science!
May 6th, 2009
i despair at idiots who don’t know what they are talking about. humans are the environmental disaster and should be much fewer in number. i also want a healthy planet so unlike you we have no kids. like most farmers we know, we keep a small flock of 20 as grounds keepers for our orchard. therefore we don’t need to use gas powered tractors with mowers. they provide the extra benefit of fertilizing as they graze. FYI the market for wool is already glutted and we have a barn full we can’t even give away. a wool insulation factory would give us some extra income. we farmers struggle growing food for ignorant people who don’t want to pay enough for food so farmers can make a living.
May 11th, 2009
“Sheep are an environmental disaster.” The funny thing about farming is that there are so many people that have never farmed, never lived on a farm, never been around livestock, and yet have such strong (and usually wrong) opinions about farming and livestock. Why is that?
The land my sheep are on is “up and down.” Impossible to plant crops or even hay. I do not know what else you would do with it (the land). Sheep convert sunshine into meat and fiber (and this is incredable fiber). Most herbavores all over the world do this, it is just with sheep that we (Man) benifit from the meat and fiber. And Mr. Goode is from the “chemical industry.” Humm . . .
August 29th, 2009
Hi
Great Article
Thanks for Sharing Information.