Researchers at a New York engineering school say they are developing siding insulated with industrial hemp for the remodeling of buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment.
The research team, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY, hopes to create a commercially viable, durable, and low-embodied-carbon insulated siding product in a three-year program financed with a $1.5 million grant from the Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
RPI faculty will work with industry partners in creating a Hemp Retrofit Structural Insulated Panel (HeRS) designed to lower heating and cooling costs for homeowners that is easy to install.
HeRS will use a dense mat of hemp wool fibers bonded with a recycled binder that has a similar form factor and attachment method to existing siding materials, according to an RPI press release. The finished product will have a minimum R-5 thermal performance to reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning energy use by 15%-25%.
Researchers at a New York engineering school say they are developing siding insulated with industrial hemp for the remodeling of buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment.
The research team, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY, hopes to create a commercially viable, durable, and low-embodied-carbon insulated siding product in a three-year program financed with a $1.5 million grant from the Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
RPI faculty will work with industry partners in creating a Hemp Retrofit Structural Insulated Panel (HeRS) designed to lower heating and cooling costs for homeowners that is easy to install.
HeRS will use a dense mat of hemp wool fibers bonded with a recycled binder that has a similar form factor and attachment method to existing siding materials, according to an RPI press release. The finished product will have a minimum R-5 thermal performance to reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning energy use by 15%-25%.
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