Could sheep’s wool help us to create the sustainable homes of the future?

Cartrefi Conwy and its subsidiary Creating Enterprise has benefited from financial support from the Welsh Government’s SMARTCymru programme, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Our Welsh Natural Fibre Insulation (WNFI) project looks to use Welsh raw materials to develop a Welsh manufactured insulation product, that is renewable and locally sourced, and could potentially help us to create sustainable homes.

Working in partnership with Bangor University, we are hoping to develop a new natural fibre insulation product that is not only energy efficient but performs better with regards to fire protection, air and noise pollution. Natural fibres include materials such as wood fibre, hemp and flax as well as Sheep’s Wool. Sheep’s Wool is not only a thermal insulator, but its properties include air purification, humidity regulation, sound insulation and fire protection, as well as being sustainable.

The first phase of the project will be research based, where we will test the natural fibre products for energy efficiency as well as indoor temperature, humidity etc.

If this proves successful, we aim to trial this new product in one of our homes as part of our ongoing retrofit programme.