Michael Gaisford

There are many sorts of insulation, and these can be put in two main groups.

Group 1; Insulation against heat loss (or heat gain).

Group 2; Insulation against sound.

Considering both groups, many manufactured solutions exist.

These solutions can be grouped again into two main groups, in my opinion. Group one would be the ecological solutions which are being chosen by more and more clients, and group two can be classified as the rest.

In both groups there are different types of insulation such as rigid panels, rolls and loose particles.

So, ecologically speaking;

Panels; glued wood particles

cork

recycled paper

plant fibres (linseed)

duck feathers and wool

on a roll;

wool

Hemp fibres

plant fibres (linseed)

duck feathers and wool

and loose particles;

cut pieces of wool

Hemp

pieces of cork

recycled paper.

In the other group, there is;

glass fibre

polystyrene

expanded polystyrene

plaster board

wood

Of course there are many others such as the very thin reflective materials and materials such as breeze-blocks, thermal blocks, bricks and many ecological building blocks which basically trap air whinin themselves.

There will be further information on these products in future bloggs.
Which insulative material you choose will depend on numerous factors; how freindly it is to the planet, how easy it is to handle, how much space is available, how it will perform, how long it will last and of course how much it costs.

My advice is to take your time and choose well.

Once it is installed it is there for a long time.