Historically, energy use in the operational phase has accounted for most of a building’s climate impact. This has been changed in recent decades because there has been a focus on developing energy-efficient buildings. A larger part of a building’s climate impact is caused by material manufacturing and production. To reduce a building’s climate impact alternative insulation materials can be used, for example hemp fibre insulation which is an organic and non-toxic material. The aim of this study is to find out if hemp fibre insulation can be implemented as a standard insulation material. By examining what factors are vital when choosing an insulation material this work intends to find out if the insulation properties of hemp insulation can fulfill the requirements by the constructor. To fulfill the aim, a combination of interviews, surveys and theoretical studies was used. The most crucial aspects when choosing insulation material are fire resistance, thermal conductivity and health aspects for the construction workers. The benefits with hemp insulation are primarily the negative emissions of carbon dioxide seen from a life cycle perspective, the possibility to cultivate the product within Sweden, its reusability and recyclability and that the insulation material are free from hazardous substances. The disadvantages are higher thermal conductivity, higher market price, lower fire resistance and limited accessibility on the Swedish market. Due to the disadvantages, it is difficult to implement hemp insulation as a standard insulation material today. The conclusions are that the environmental impact is not decisive for an entrepreneur today when choosing insulation material. However, it will most likely become a more essential factor in the future. Improving the building sector’s knowledge regarding hemp insulation, will presumably increase the usage of it. Although, for hemp insulation to become a competitor in the future, it is substantial to increase its fire resistance and the accessibility on the Swedish market. The development of the material and the market may be a contributing factor to achieve the global and national environmental goals.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-105853 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Lundholm, Kelly, Hillerbratt, Emma |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för byggteknik (BY) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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