Wool

We know sheeps wool is a great insulator. Builders could buy wool ( and buy up wool futures) as a good alternative which also supports farmers and crofters

Why the contribution is important

Artificial insulating material up is costly and has to be transported. We have excess wool in the Highlands.

by Kaledonia13 on September 05, 2022 at 04:35PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.5
Based on: 12 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Kaledonia13 September 05, 2022 at 16:37

    We need to educate a new generation of heating and energy generating engineers in Scotland. This will decrease the brain drain south and encourage our talented youth to stay where the are happy and where there are great jobs which benefit Communities

  • Posted by Tony September 05, 2022 at 17:43

    An excellent idea!

    Wool is often burnt after shearing as there is no market for it. Using it for insulation would help support local communities and help keep crofting alive.

    As it's a renewable resource itself it fits in nicely with the overall approach to a just transition.

    It is more expensive than man-made fibres so perhaps tax-breaks etc. would be needed to encourage it.

  • Posted by AlasdairPhilips September 07, 2022 at 15:02

    We used treated (for fire resistance) wool as insulation when renovating our cottage. It is SO much more pleasant to handle and even smells good. Currently fleeces go for very little money in the UK - so it would be a good way of helping hill farmers especially. Yes, some Government incentive is probably needed to help with the cost - it certainly is more expensive at present.

    Sheep’s wool uses a fraction of the embedded energy used to produce man-made insulating materials. Sheep’s wool has a value of 6 MJ/kg compared to 101 for Polyurethane foam and 26 for glass mineral wool, according to an analysis by GreenSpec. It is biodegradable and recyclable if and when necessary.

  • Posted by grahamworrall September 08, 2022 at 13:27

    Processing wool to insulation is a long and capital intensive process not a micro industry.

  • Posted by AlasdairPhilips September 08, 2022 at 17:50

    It can be - depends on the specification and Regulations - but it need not be. An extreme view is here:
    https://www.sheepwoolinsulation.com/[…]/
    here is a more organic approach:
    https://www.keelayogafarm.com/[…]/

    I am not against large-scale industrial processing - that would probably be best, but once set up it should be reasonably economic - and it would give a great new market for their wool - which at the moment is very poor. We need holistic approaches in working towards a Just Transition to Net Zero (and recylability of products).
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