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A. Korjenic, S. Klaric, A. Hadzic, S. Korjenic:
"Sheep Wool as a Construction Material for Energy Efficiency Improvement";
ENERGIES (invited), Energies 2015 (2015), 8; 5765 - 5781.

The building sector is responsible for 40% of the current CO2 emissions as well as energy consumption. Sustainability and energy efficiency of buildings are currently being evaluated, not only based on thermal insulation qualities and energy demands, but also based on primary energy demand, CO2 reductions and the ecological properties of
the materials used. Therefore, in order to make buildings as sustainable as possible, it is crucial to maximize the use of ecological materials. This study explores alternative usage
of sheep wool as a construction material beyond its traditional application in the textile industry. Another goal of this research was to study the feasibility of replacement of commonly used thermal insulations with natural and renewable materials which have better
environmental and primary energy values. Building physics, energy and environmental characteristics were evaluated and compared based on hygrothermal simulation and ecological balance methods. The observations demonstrate that sheep wool, compared with mineral wool and calcium silicate, provides comparable thermal insulation characteristics, and in some applications even reveals better Performance.

energy efficiency; primary energy reduction; CO2 reduction; natural and renewable building materials; sheep wool; hygrothermal simulation; ecological balance method

http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en8065765