When it comes to external wall insulation, foam insulations are a commonly used material due to the fact that they are relatively low-cost. Nevertheless, there are plenty of people out there who install external wall insulation for environmental, eco-friendly reasons, and so look for ec0-friendly insulation materials to use on their homes. There are actually plenty of natural materials that are great at insulating, so in today’s blog, we’re going to be talking a little bit about them!
Wood Fibre Insulation
One of the most eco-friendly insulation materials is Wood Fibre. We source our Wood Fibre Insulation boards from a company called Pavatex. Pavatex is dedicated to the notion that using secure and healthy forests helps to stabilise and manage the environment, and their Diffutherm Wood Fibre insulation boards can indeed boast this status of being sustainable and environmentally conscious. This achievement has not gone unnoticed; Pavatex is certified by the renowned Nature Plus standard – the European quality standard for building materials set up by the WWF, FSC and Greenpeace.
Not only is their Wood Fibre Insulation product environmentally conscious, but the manufacturing process is as well. The Pavatex production locations in Cham and Golbey claim to be dedicated to being efficient and environmentally friendly. As a result, after taking into consideration its low manufacture emissions, the Diffutherm Wood Fibre Insulation has an overall positive CO2 balance of around 600kg per tonne of product. Wood Fibre boards are also safe to dispose of due to the fact that they are recyclable and compostable once they have reached the end of their lifespan.
Rockwool Mineral Wool Insulation
Mineral Wool insulation may not be the first thing people think of when it comes to eco-friendly insulation, due to the fact that the actual manufacture process isn’t as environmentally friendly as other insulation materials – although Rockwool argues that the insulation itself saves more energy than is required for its manufacture process. Either way, Mineral Wool is definitely worth mentioning as it comes from a sustainable, natural resource.
Made from rock and other raw materials which are melted in a furnace and spun to create fibres, Mineral Wool combines great thermal performance with excellent acoustic insulation capabilities. It’s an incredibly hard-wearing insulation material that is available for a range of applications (whether it’s for EWI, wall insulation or roof insulation), so if you’re looking for a material with an environmentally friendly lifespan then Mineral Wool is a great choice.
Further to this, Mineral Wool takes fire safety to the next level. It is Euroclass A1 rated for non-combustibility. The insulation itself will not ignite and therefore will not emit noxious gases. This is definitely something to factor into your decision-making.
Cork Insulation
This particular insulation material is not something that we are currently stocking, however, it’s renowned for being very high performance and eco-friendly. Cork insulation is 100% natural, offering long-term performance with little to no degradation. Its thermal capabilities are notably good due to the fact that expanded cork insulation boards have many air pockets that assist in trapping heat.
Cork is completely renewable, as it is extracted from cork-oak trees before it is manufactured into boards. The insulation itself is free of chemicals, synthetic resins and will not emit any noxious gases.
