ETH researches natural thermal insulators
Forschende der Eidgenössischen Technischen Hochschule Zürich (ETH) haben ein Projekt zum Einsatz von Stroh und Hanf als Wärmedämmung durchgeführt. Die Bilanz zeigt einen deutlich geringeren CO2-Ausstoss bei der Herstellung der Dämmstoffe.
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich(ETH) have tested natural insulating materials in a project. According to an article, the group led by Guillaume Habert, Professor of Sustainable Construction, and Bruno Sudret, Professor of Risk, Safety and Quantification of Uncertainties, have found new approaches to this. They analysed six buildings in need of renovation that were built between 1911 and 1988. In addition to the core issue of replacing fossil-fuelled heating systems with sustainable ones such as heat pumps or solar-powered ones, the main focus of the investigations was on thermal insulation. Various traditional insulation materials such as EPS, glass wool, rock wool and cellulose fibres were compared with natural materials such as straw and hemp.
“The CO2 emissions from the production of conventional insulation materials are sometimes very high, and their use in building renovations partially cancels out the positive effect achieved by reducing energy consumption,” Guillaume Habert is quoted as saying in the article. “Building materials made from renewable raw materials cause significantly fewer greenhouse gases. They also have the advantage that they bind CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow and this is then stored in the building in the long term.”
Both heating conversions and appropriate thermal insulation with natural materials can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 87 per cent, according to the study.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland(HES-SO) in Yverdon-les-Bains VD and the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg.