LanaTerm: wool can keep buildings warm as well as sheep

LanaTerm
Type of organisation or company
Country
Romania
City
Oradea
Language for original content
Key Area
Project elaborated in partnership
No
Scope
Submitted by
Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment Ernest Lupan (IRCEM)
Ongoing
Yes
Type of funding
Romania Start-Up Nation Programme
Description

There are not many eco-friendly products on the Romanian construction market, so there was definitely a niche in the thermal insulation market. LanaTerm uses sheep's wool to create thermal insulation for buildings.

Nature designed sheep's wool to be an effective insulator. Sheep produce it without any human intervention, so it really is renewable, not to mention 100% recyclable. This makes insulation using wool ideal for low-impact green buildings such as passive or zero-carbon houses.

LanaTerm wool insulation does not have a negative environmental footprint, as it is biodegradable, does not harm the ozone layer and does not contribute to climate change. Growing wool is very much what sheep do, so the process entails a fraction of the energy required to produce equivalent man-made insulation. In fact, sheep's wool requires less than 15% of the energy used to make glass wool.

Main activity field
Identified challenge (s)
Main results

LanaTerm makes thermal insulation for buildings using sheep's wool. This insulation has the following advantages:

  • significant reduction of heat loss;
  • lower energy costs;
  • increased indoor comfort;
  • sheep's wool is the least flammable of all natural fibres due to its high nitrogen content;
  • wool fibres are bonded mechanically. No synthetic fibres or chemical agents that could compromise the 100% ecological integrity of the product are used.