Heating accounts for 60% and 50% of energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings, respectively. Insulation plays a key role in rationalizing building energy consumption. Other macro and micro design factors include building form, orientation and volume, landscaping, ventilation, passive solar design, thermal mass and glass technology.

While adding renewable energy to the global energy mix, significantly reducing our energy needs through the optimization of the carbon footprint of building materials and the ability to improve energy efficiency will promote the sustainable development transition. Therefore, the construction industry needs to I) design materials that can minimize heat loss and maximize energy efficiency; ii) implement sustainable insulation product manufacturing processes from the perspective of product composition and supply chain processes.

By using low-density materials with complex solid paths and honeycomb or fibrous cavitation structures, thermal insulation can be maximized, thereby reducing heat conduction. Compared with standard buildings, building insulation can reduce heating/cooling costs by up to 10 times, while organic natural fiber or honeycomb insulation adds a positive carbon footprint impact to the economic principle.

According to the "Global Green Building Trends 2016" survey Analytic by Dodge Data, biogenic/natural fiber insulation [3] accounts for only 5% of the building insulation market, while mineral and synthetic insulation account for 55% and 40% respectively. According to the survey, the insulation market will continue to grow by 3% to 5% in the coming decades. By showing double-digit growth, the natural fiber market will tend to gain more and more market share and may gradually replace most other insulation materials in the future.

The current market share is historic because synthetic and mineral insulation materials are still among the cheapest insulation materials and have quite good thermal efficiency. As shown in the table below, for the same or even better thermal efficiency, their cost can be reduced by 50%.

However, this thermal efficiency characteristic requires careful consideration. is measured at the end of the line. If it is measured again after a few years, especially under the humid conditions of the mineral insulation, the thermal efficiency will drop significantly, and the biogenic fiber will remain very stable from the point of view of size and lambda.

Another important consideration is to protect not only from the cold, but also from the summer heat, which is measured in terms of "phase shift.

The phase shift is the time required for heat to penetrate inside the living chamber. This usually avoids the use of air conditioning, which has a great impact on the environment. In order to obtain excellent summer comfort, in addition to the thermal insulation capacity, the technical indicators of materials and insulators must also be considered to determine the specific structure of the insulating material. The higher the value, the more heat the material absorbs, which can keep the room fresh longer.

For wood or GRAMITHERM (an innovative natural fiber insulation made of grass grass, we will focus on it in this article), the measurement is about 11 hours. For mineral fiber or synthetic insulation, this measurement is about 4-7 hours, which means that in one case, it takes 11 hours for the heat to pass through the GRAMITHERM insulation, and in the case of mineral fiber/synthetic insulation. In the case of material, it only takes 7 hours. For example, if the sun heats the roof from 10 am, natural insulation will not let the heat through until 9 pm. By then night has fallen and the radiation will have ceased. Therefore, natural fibers can prevent solar radiation and provide optimal summer comfort without using a cooling system.

Other characteristics such as sound absorption or ease of laying without a protective cover can also affect the choice of an insulator.

In addition, as people's awareness of climate warming continues to increase, the development of the insulation market will also be driven by ecological factors such as carbon footprint, recyclability, health impact and raw material exhaustion standards.

In terms of carbon footprint, synthetic insulators have the worst balance sheet, with an average emission of 6.5kg per kg of product and 0.93 kg/kg of mineral wool, while natural fibers have a positive impact on the climate, absorbing an average of 0.1kg of carbon dioxide per kg of product.

Another key ecological issue is recyclability, the average degradation time of synthetic materials is more than 500 years, and its negative impact is also very unsustainable. Mineral wool is also difficult to recycle because the cost of recycling is higher than the cost of manufacturing new products. This is not the case with natural fibers, which have the advantage of being natural and completely recyclable.

Regarding health issues, there seems to be some harm from mineral fibers, as the fibers may be inhaled. They need to take precautions, such as wearing masks. Petrochemical insulators release a variety of harmful compounds into the air, and polyurethane is no exception. Recently, some insulation companies have been accused of health problems for homeowners who use polyurethane (PU) open-hole spraying to install insulation products. Similarly, natural insulators are generally not harmful to health, as long as they do not release any known toxic compounds, thus helping to combat indoor air pollution. However, these insulators must undergo some additional treatment, especially to protect them from rodents or to make them fireproof. This treatment is not always free of polyester fibers from petrochemicals......

Finally, one of the main advantages of biogenic products is their renewability. If everyone lived like an Australian, we would need 5.2 Earths. If we live like Americans, we need 5 Earths. If the rest of the world lived like France, we would need 3 Earths. According to the world average, we will need 1.7 Earths. Only renewable raw materials can be considered inexhaustible resources, provided that they are not mined faster than their natural regeneration rate.

The manufacture of durable and high-quality building envelope elements that combine high thermal insulation, high air tightness and fast installation speed is a growing trend throughout the construction industry. However, when designing or renovating a building, with the goal of low heat loss, it is still important to choose the insulation product that is most suitable for the application and has a long-term perspective (I. e. using a total life cycle approach).

Although minerals seem to provide the best selling price/carbon footprint ratio, glass wool and rock wool are still net sources of carbon dioxide emissions (see table below). Compared to competing solutions, the best solution needs to be economically viable, have insulation characteristics that meet industry standards, and also represent the most sustainable solution.

GRAMITHERM is an innovative biogenic insulation material that uses a rich and underutilized raw material: grass grass, which provides the best carbon footprint among its green insulation competitors and is also one of the most competitive price options on the biogenic insulation market.

The industrial process of producing GRAMITHERM does not generate waste and requires limited external energy, so it is very suitable for a circular economy. According to a life cycle analysis conducted by the University of Zurich in 2015, producing 1kg of GRAMITHERM will absorb 1.405kg of carbon dioxide.

Grasses cover the 1/4 land on earth and are the most abundant resource on earth. Grasslands cover about 20% of the territory of Europe. Thus, grasses appear to be one of the most abundant biomass resources and at the same time one of the most underutilized. Unlike hemp or flax, grasses do not require specialized farmland, and there are currently too few successful and profitable industrial applications.

It is also one of the most competitively priced biogenic insulation products, with a list price of 10 euros per square meter. Only wood strands that are already mass-produced can be priced more competitively, with an average price of 8-10 euros per square meter [5]. However, unlike wood wire, GRAMITHERM installation does not generate dust.

GRAMITHERM also provide all the necessary technical characteristics and advantages that appropriate insulation materials should have, including winter cold protection, summer heat protection, mildew and fire protection, anti-allergy (no pollen, fine particles or fungal spores), sound absorption, humidity regulation, Dimensional stability, rodent resistance (separation of digestible parts from fiber during manufacturing) and other health benefits during material handling. GRAMITHERM can be used to insulate the part under the roof and between the rafters of new and renovated buildings, for the double layer of external walls and internal partitions, as well as wooden frames and floors and ceilings.

It has the excellent ability to absorb moisture in the surrounding air and release moisture when the surrounding air becomes dry, which can bring great comfort. This characteristic makes GRAMITHERM one of the best performing insulators in the subtropics, where synthetic and mineral products are not allowed.

GRAMITHERM is not only a green insulation material with competitive technical and price characteristics, but also has a positive carbon footprint impact throughout its life cycle. In addition, the untapped supply of forage allows GRAMITHERM to be produced around the world, providing competitive biogenic insulation solutions.