Inditherm: Carbon capturing locally made insulation
Product description
IndiTherm is a semi-rigid, multi-purpose, thermal and acoustic natural fiber insulation board. It is manufactured from industrial hemp grown in the UK by IndiNature in the Scottish Borders. IndiNature uses fast-growing industrial crops that pull CO2 from the air as they grow, which then gets locked up in the products.
Firstplanit Evaluation
When Firstplanit assessed IndiTherm against 18 key impact indicators, the product achieved “best practice” classification for 5 categories locally made (in the UK), low embodied carbon (-31.5 kgCO2eq/m3), rapidly degradable (2 weeks), rapidly renewable (4 months), and versatile.
After evaluating IndiTherm’s performance across all 18 sustainability metrics, a product score was calculated for Environment, Social, Health and Monetary. This score was compared to a popular readily available insulation from a building supply change. To quantify the benefits of using IndiTherm over a conventional alternative, a benefit score was derived by comparing their respective product scores.
IndiTherm surpassed the industry standard alternative across all metrics, with its strongest performance in the environmental category.
Application and manufacturing process
IndiTherm is a versatile insulation material that can be used in a range of building types and projects. It is suitable for most situations where flexible insulations are used, such as roof spaces, suspended floors, timber frame walls, etc. IndiTherm is ideal for traditional retrofits and can be friction fit between structural framing or against masonry, with excellent rigidity to resist slumping.
IndiTherm is made from industrial hemp grown in the UK, which captures carbon as it grows and results in a product that is reusable, recyclable, and reprocessable. IndiNature’s new mill is located in Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders.
Company Purpose and founders
IndiNature was founded in 2016 to manufacture bio-based construction systems on an industrial scale. The company believes in a natural industrial revolution that creates global positive impacts on the climate, communities, and the environment.
Co-founder Scott conducted lab-based research into natural alternative insulations and found that they have performance advantages over conventional ones. He then used his family home as a case study, completely gutting, rebuilding, and extending it using the best natural materials on the market.
The three-bedroom home ended up with a quarter of the average heating bill and now maintains comfortable and healthy temperatures and humidities all year long. It is warm in winter and cool in summer, naturally.
IndiNature was founded to make high-quality natural insulations available locally around the globe on an industrial scale and at a competitive price.
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