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Community and Q&A

Lamb’s wool (natural wool insulation)

rdanomly | Posted in Green Products and Materials on

Hi All,
Has anyone heard anything about their product?  I’m a bit skeptical of some of the claims (“cleaning the air”) and how those claims square with existing blown-in insulation materials.  I find the nearly R-6 per inch claim hard to believe, but interesting if true.

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Replies

  1. Expert Member
    MALCOLM TAYLOR | | #1

    Lambs wool has some things going for it. it's pleasant to install, is hydroscopic which in some circumstances is a good thing (although in others not), and it may absorb indoor pollutants.

    However it isn't unique in being hydroscopic (so is cellulose), and the position of the insulation in your walls or ceiling make it unlikely that any significant cleansing could take place.

    The biggest knock against it is the price. Unless it had some really great attributes that other insulation choices didn't, the question I'd have is why pay a premium for it?

    At the insistence of the owner, I used it when building a tiny house. Because he neglected important air-sealing, whatever merits the wool might have were completely dwarfed by the heat loss though the structure. My own feeling is the choice of batt material isn't that important a part of the puzzle.

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