HEMP PRODUCT: Hempcrete
SUB MARKETS: Construction, Building Materials, Insulation
The bio-composite material highlighted on day 17 of our 31 Days of Hemp campaign is another excellent insulator: hempcrete. Unique to all other natural fibers, hemp hurds have high silica content, allowing the woody inner core “shives” to bind well with a lime and water mixture. The resulting material is formed and cured around a structural, load-bearing frame and is significantly lighter than concrete (~1/8th the weight). Requiring less heat in preparation than concrete, hempcrete also traps plenty of carbon during growth and through hardening (“carbotitation”). Combined with a four-month maturation life, hemp-based construction materials offer a far greener way to build than current status quo methods.
Other benefits to building with hempcrete:
- Fire resistant
- Renewable resource
- Durable, weather resistant
- Humidity / Moisture regulator
- Good sound insulator
- Low thermal conductivity
- Buffers temperature extremes
- Excellent indoor air quality
- Carbon sequestration / sink
- Natural pest-resistance
- Anti-fungal (mildew resistant)
SUPPLIERS / EDUCATIONAL:
- Hempcrete Natural Building Ltd (Canada)
- American Lime Technologies (US)
- Hempcrete Australia (Australia)
- Limcrete Company Ltd (UK)
- Hemp-Lime Construct (UK)
- Hemp Technologies (Global)
- American Hemp LLC (US)
- Hemp Building (US)
- Cannabric (Spain)
Want to try your hand at building with hempcrete? Register for the 3-Day educational Hempcrete Building Course, June 26 - 28th, 2015, presented by the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), the KYHIA, and American Lime Technologies. HIA members receive a $50 discount on the course, so your Kentucky Hemp Industries Association membership already pays for itself!
Not yet a member of the Kentucky HIA? Signup today.