Green Building Advisor: Wood Fiber Wins as Low Carbon Insulation

At TimberHP, we talk often of the clear advantage wood fiber has over all other competitors as a carbon negative insulation that can substantially lower a building’s greenhouse gas emissions over its life span. While our own internal research confirms this fact, it’s always exciting to see third-party validation too!

In a recent edition of Green Building Advisor, the online publication did its own analysis of the global warming potential (GWP) of currently available insulations sold on the U.S. market. The publication started its review with Environmental Product Declarations (EDPs)—published by insulation manufacturers and trade associations—that highlight life-cycle costs for specific insulation products. These data sets—measuring how raw materials, transport to the factory, manufacturing and other elements contribute to products’ embodied carbon—were then used to calculate an overall GWP average for each type of insulation. Wood fiber insulation had a substantially lower global warming potential than every other scalable mainstream product. The article went on to mention GO Lab’s development of TimberHP—wood fiber insulation, made in America—as one of several promising moves that could lower embodied carbon in buildings over the long term. Producing wood fiber insulation domestically will eliminate the need to ship it to the U.S. from Europe. The more modest transportation required to get TimberHP batts, boards and loose fill from our facility in Madison, Maine to U.S. and Canadian markets will thereby enhance wood fiber insulation’s overall environmental impact. Read the full article here.