Hemp and jute mattresses for natural and efficient home insulation

Signature Naturalpaint has already accustomed us to good quality natural products for insulating and finishing the house. You may remember Gutex wood fibre insulation boards, with very good fire resistance. For those who haven't seen the test yet, you can watch it here. Now he is offering two new thermal insulation products, hemp and jute fibre mattresses and hemp wool. The products are natural, have a beneficial effect on the home and those who live in it, and are no inferior to the top materials in the industry.

Hemp and jute, industrial plants rediscovered

Years ago, hemp and jute were intensively cultivated for yarn. Hemp was used to weave clothes and bed coverings, and jute was used to make twine, rope, sackcloth and carpets. The advent of artificial yarns led to the gradual replacement of the more difficult and expensive natural yarns. The recent return to the natural in most areas has led to the rediscovery of jute and hemp yarns and the possibility of using them in areas other than textiles. One such area is the thermal insulation of buildings.

Hemp grows very fast, with its stem reaching 4 m in just 100 days. Its roots, which penetrate deep into the soil, help it reach food sources normally inaccessible to annuals, so it doesn't need artificial fertilisers. It grows healthily and doesn't need pesticides because it grows faster than weeds. Flexible fibres are obtained from the woody stem using specific processes and techniques. By its nature, hemp is of no interest to pests, is very resistant to fungi and does not rot, making it a very good building material.

Jute is, like hemp, an annual industrial plant used to make natural fibres. The stalk, which can also reach 4 m in height, produces silky golden threads over 3 m long and 2.5 microns in diameter. They are widely used worldwide and are the second most widely used natural fibre after cotton. One of its uses is in food transport bags. Because there are very strict regulations in the food industry, these sacks are used for a single transport, after which they should be destroyed. The THERMO HANF company in Germany came up with the idea bag recycling to obtain fibres used in the composition of natural insulating materials.

A wonderful plant that can save the planet

THERMO HANF is a well known company in the field of natural insulating materials. It was the one that saw the outstanding qualities of hemp and started producing insulation materials back in 2003. Since 2020, the company has been part of the Dutch HEMPFLAX group, known for its concern to introduce hemp in as many areas as possible. Ben Dronkers, who started the Dutch company in 1994, believes that this wonderful plant can help save mankind.

The factory in Bavaria continues to produce natural materials used to insulate houses. Hemp and jute fibre mattresses THERMO HEMP® COMBI JUTE and THERMO HANF Stuffing Wool, a hemp wool that makes it possible to insulate heat and hard-to-reach areas, are the most sought-after and popular products. They can now also be found in Romania thanks to the company Naturalpaint.

THERMO HEMP® COMBI JUTE

It is a thermal insulation material in the form of a mattress made from hemp and jute fibres. It provides excellent thermal protection in both winter and summer. It has low thermal conductivity and high heat storage capacity. Due to the high water absorption capacity of hemp fibres, the insulation contributes to constant and optimal indoor humidity.

THERMO HEMP® COMBI JUTE mattresses consist of 62.5% hemp fibre, 21.75% jute fibre, 9% PET-based polymer backing fibre and 4% soda. Bulk density is approx. 37kg/m3 and thermal conductivity 0.039-0.040W/m.K.

Polymer fibres, also called support fibres, are added to keep the mattresses flexible and so they return to their original shape after compression. They also determine the adhesion between the natural hemp and jute fibres, making the mattress dimensionally stable. The polymer fibres are recycled 100% materials.

Soda ash, i.e. sodium carbonate, is added for fire resistance. It is not a problem from an environmental point of view and is also used in organic food as additive E-500, with no upper limit. Fire suppression is possible through so-called heterogeneous inhibition, also called anti-catalytic effect. The radicals of the combustion reaction are bound to the surface of the finely ground carbonate granules and become harmless, which leads to fire suppression. As a side effect, the soda brings the pH value down to 12, which makes the mattresses in the upper mould resistance class (class 0).

The mats can be used for insulation between rafters and between wooden beams, insulation of ceilings, exterior walls and roof (insulation under the supporting structure), cavity insulation of exterior and interior walls in timber frame constructions.

THERMO HANF Stuffing Wool, insulation material for tight spaces

Hemp wool is very useful when narrow and hard-to-reach spaces appear. It insulates very well the space between window and door frames and masonry, the joints of masonry/wood or wood/wood joints, small spaces where the use of mattresses is impossible. It is very effective at eliminating thermal bridges in passive houses or energy efficient ones. In the deck area the fibres do not allow air currents to pass through.

THERMO HANF Stuffing Wool contains 96% hemp fibre and 4% calcium carbonate (fire retardant). The hemp fibres are loose and range in length from 50 to 160 mm. The water content is 10-12% at a relative humidity of 65%. The fire resistance (according to EN ISO 11925-2:2010) is B2, Class E (according to EN13501-1:2007), as for hemp and jute mattresses, and the maximum temperature at which the insulation can work is 160°C. The void fill density is between 30 and 50 kg/m³. Being made of hemp, the insulation does not attract rodents and insects, does not create an environment for fungi and mould growth and does not cause allergies.

If you want a healthy home, the materials offered by Naturalpaint are a good solution. In the product range you will not only find natural insulation but also clay and lime for plastering and painting walls or oil and wax for wood and stone.