Hemp insulation manufactured in Canada!

Nature Fibres是一家位于魁北克省石棉镇的年轻公司，该公司于2018年冬天开始生产大麻绝缘材料。正如小镇的名字所暗示的那样，它严重依赖于石棉的制造，但由于相关的健康风险，这些采矿和制造设施正在关闭。Nature Fibres brings a badly needed economic boost to this old mining region, both in manufacturinghemp based building materialsand farming.

Hemp based Insulation Manufacturing facility in Canada © Nature Fibres

As a crop, hemp requires no pesticides or insecticides and consumes very little water. It can alsosequester 5 times more CO² than woodduring the same growing period. In addition, it can bring value to idle land since it is grown as part of a normal crop rotation.

Thanks to experienced business partners and the support of provincial and municipal governments, Nature Fibres has quickly established itself in the local economy and is the pride of the region. The company has already completed 90 construction and renovation projects with Hemp insulation products, both residential and industrial.

After a year of construction and setting up manufacturing equipment, the company began operations in March 2018. This fall, locally harvested hemp will provide 75% of the raw material required for production. "25% of our hemp still comes from France," says Sébastien Belec, General Manager of Nature Fibres, "but we hope that local production will soon meet all of our needs".

Hemp insulation batts ready for Green Home construction © Nature Fibres

The environmental impact of hemp:

The lifecycle of hemp wool is a very appealing one from an environmental standpoint. Simply compare the manufacturing process; to produce a panel of hemp wool in the thickness needed to obtain a value of R10 requires 3.4 kWh of energy, while it takes 5.5 kWh to produce that value in cellulose, 15.6 kWh for mineral wool and 48.4 kWh for polyurethane*.
*Calculations by Denis Boyer, energy-efficiency coordinator for Ecohome.

对于那些希望在施工和翻新过程中减少其影响的人，值得考虑产品的隐含能量，并记住，聚氨酯需要输入14倍的能量，以达到与大麻相同的热性能。在使用寿命结束时，麻绝缘是可重复使用和/或可回收的，这与聚氨酯不同。

作为绝缘材料的选择，麻羊毛还有许多其他的优点。它是无毒的，它可以减少声音的传播，而且对害虫有很强的抵抗力。大麻也是蒸汽渗透性的——这意味着水分可以直接通过它。这允许大麻帮助调节由室内和室外温度差异导致的蒸汽流，这有助于调节室内气候和你家的相对湿度。

Denis Boyer also points out that a well-designed wall insulated with hemp has the advantage of allowing the drying not only of the moisture contained in the structural material at the time of construction, but also of the building envelope in the event of any moisture or water infiltration (infiltration from outside or leak from the inside).

Being a natural and non-toxic material ensures that installation is safer and easier than many other types of insulation with no special safety gear or gloves required.

Hemp batt wall insulation in a wood framed wall © Nature Fibres


Hemp insulation products available through Nature Fibres:

  • Flexible and compressible insulation batts;
  • masonry blocks;
  • semi-rigid soundproofing panels;
  • semi-rigid decorative and soundproofing panels;
  • felts for subfloor insulation.

5.5 " batts for a standard 2x6 wall currently cost $1.90 per square foot and 3.5" batts for 2x4 stud bays cost $1.35 per square foot. "Our prices per square foot fall right between the cost of mineral wool and polystyrene panels," said the director of Nature Fibers.
On product availability -: "We are currently in discussion with BMR subsidiaries about hosting our products in some of their renovation centers, " says Sebastien Bélec. When asked about the development potential of his company, he replied, "the market for bio-based Hemp insulation panels and Hemp based building materials is growing rapidly among individual builders, as well as architects and general contractors, and the demand is coming from all across Canada & USA"

See all aboutHemp Building Materials herein the EcoHomeGreen Building Guides