Hemp Insulation Mats

Hemp fibre does almost all the work in this flexible insulation mat from Dun Agro Hemp Group. The company grows and processes industrial hemp in Oude Pekela in the north of the Netherlands, and supplies the mats as a bio-based alternative to glass wool, rock wool and polystyrene in roofs, walls and ceilings.

Each mat is 85 per cent hemp fibre, treated with soda as a fire retardant, bound by 15 per cent recycled polyester bicomponent fibre. The result is light and springy, at 30 to 40 kg/m³, and clamps between rafters and timber studs. Standard mats measure 1,100 × 600 mm, from 30 to 180 mm thick, for an Rd-value of up to 4.6 m²K/W. Other sizes can be made to measure.

Declared thermal conductivity is 0.039 W/mK. With a vapour diffusion resistance factor of 2 or less, the mats belong in vapour-open build-ups. They also absorb sound (index 0.70, class C), which suits partition walls, lining walls and service voids. Reaction to fire is class C. Dun Agro grows the fibre without pesticides and states that the mats do not irritate skin or lungs during installation.

A declaration of performance covers the product, which is registered in the Dutch national environmental database; an LCA and EPD are available. Dun Agro also presses lime and hemp shiv into prefabricated wall, roof and floor panels, and its hemp concrete is already in the guide.

Source: Dun Agro Hemp Group · Images: Dun Agro Hemp Group