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While the United States continues to ban the cultivation of industrial hemp because of its relationship to marijuana, other countries recognize the plant's considerable economic and environmental benefits. The soft, hardy fiber can be found in paper, clothing and, increasingly, in houses. In the United Kingdom, Bath University researchers have constructed a building dubbed the "HemPod" in order to test the suitability of hemp as a building material.
The walls of the one-story HemPod consist of a hemp-lime mixture, made from the chopped core of the industrial hemp plant and a lime-based binder. The lime-based binder sticks to and protects the hemp fibers, making the material resistant to fire. Besides being drought- and pest-resistant, industrial hemp absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows and can be sustainably harvested. According to researchers, a soccer field-sized area can grow enough hemp in three months to build a typical three-bedroom house. The rest of the plant, like its seeds, can then be used for food or oil.
Hemp houses already exist in countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, but the HemPod will be used purely for scientific testing. Researchers plan to monitor the house for 18 months using temperature and humidity sensors within its walls, to determine how quickly heat and water vapor pass through the material.
Ashville, North Carolina residents Russ Martin and Karon Korp can vouch for its insulating power. Last month CNN interviewed the couple, who own the first house in America constructed mainly from hemp materials, and Martin reported that the monthly cooling bill for the 3400 sq. ft. building was only $100. In appearance, the Ashville building is sleek and modern, dispelling the tie-dye stereotypes that surround hemp.
Push Design constructed the house out of a mixture of hemp, lime and water called "hempcrete", and insulated the walls and doors with recycled paper. The hemp is grown and processed without the use of toxic chemicals. And no, it won't get you high. Industrial hemp doesn't contain cannabis. Hempcrete can be bought in the United States, but the material is imported from other countries where industrial hemp can be legally grown.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:Tainted Green - Unearthing the Truth About Green
Author: Bryce Wolfe
Contact: Tainted Green - Unearthing the Truth About Green
Copyright: 2008 – 2010 Tainted Green
Website:Hemp houses offer sustainability without sacrificing style - Tainted Green
Above article links to and is referenced off this story.
Low Carbon Hemp House Put To The Test
Used to make paper, clothing and car body panels, hemp could also be used to build environmentally-friendly homes of the future say researchers at the University of Bath.
A consortium, led by the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials based at the University, has constructed a small building on the Claverton campus out of hemp-lime to test its properties as a building material.
Called the "HemPod", this one-storey building has highly insulating walls made from the chopped woody core, or shiv, of the industrial hemp plant mixed with a specially developed lime-based binder.
The hemp shiv traps air in the walls, and the hemp itself is porous, making the walls incredibly well insulated. The lime-based binder sticks together and protects the hemp and makes the building material highly fire resistant.
The industrial hemp plant takes in carbon dioxide as it grows, and the lime render absorbs even more of the climate change gas, effectively giving the building an extremely low carbon footprint.
Dr Mike Lawrence, Research Officer from the University's Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering, explained: "Whilst there are already some houses in the UK built using hemp and lime, the HemPod will be the first hemp-lime building to be constructed purely for scientific testing.
"We will be closely monitoring the house for 18 months using temperature and humidity sensors buried in the walls, measuring how quickly heat and water vapour travels through them.
"The walls are breathable and act as a sort of passive air-conditioning system, meaning that the internal humidity is kept constant and the quality of the air within the house is very good. The walls also have a 'virtual thermal mass' because of the remarkable pore structure of hemp shiv combined with the properties of the lime binder, which means the building is much more thermally efficient and the temperature inside the house stays fairly constant."
Professor Pete Walker, Director of the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, added: "The aim of the project is to provide some robust data to persuade the mainstream building industry to use this building material more widely.
"Hemp grows really quickly; it only takes the area the size of a rugby pitch to grow enough hemp in three months to build a typical three-bedroom house.
"Using renewable crops to build houses can also provide economic benefits to rural areas by opening up new agricultural markets. Farmers can grow hemp during the summer as a break crop between their main food crops, it doesn't need much water and can be grown organically.
"Every part of the plant can be used, so there's no waste — the shiv is used for building, the fibres can make car panels, clothing or paper, and the seeds can be used for food or oil. So it's a very efficient, renewable material.
"Lime has been used in construction for millennia, and combining it with industrial hemp is a significant development in the effort to make construction more sustainable."
Environmentally-friendly building materials are often more expensive than traditional materials, but the Renewable House project funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) demonstrated a cost of around £75,000 (excluding foundations) to build a three-bedroom Code 4 house from hemp-lime making it competitive with conventional bricks and mortar.
The project is sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) under the Renewable Materials LINK Programme, and brings together a team of nine partners comprising: University of Bath, BRE Ltd, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Hanson UK, Hemp Technology, Lhoist Group, Lime Technology, the NNFCC and Wates Living Space.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:Homepage | University of Bath
Contact: Homepage | University of Bath
Copyright: 2010 University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
Website:Low carbon hemp house put to the test
The walls of the one-story HemPod consist of a hemp-lime mixture, made from the chopped core of the industrial hemp plant and a lime-based binder. The lime-based binder sticks to and protects the hemp fibers, making the material resistant to fire. Besides being drought- and pest-resistant, industrial hemp absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows and can be sustainably harvested. According to researchers, a soccer field-sized area can grow enough hemp in three months to build a typical three-bedroom house. The rest of the plant, like its seeds, can then be used for food or oil.
Hemp houses already exist in countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, but the HemPod will be used purely for scientific testing. Researchers plan to monitor the house for 18 months using temperature and humidity sensors within its walls, to determine how quickly heat and water vapor pass through the material.
Ashville, North Carolina residents Russ Martin and Karon Korp can vouch for its insulating power. Last month CNN interviewed the couple, who own the first house in America constructed mainly from hemp materials, and Martin reported that the monthly cooling bill for the 3400 sq. ft. building was only $100. In appearance, the Ashville building is sleek and modern, dispelling the tie-dye stereotypes that surround hemp.
Push Design constructed the house out of a mixture of hemp, lime and water called "hempcrete", and insulated the walls and doors with recycled paper. The hemp is grown and processed without the use of toxic chemicals. And no, it won't get you high. Industrial hemp doesn't contain cannabis. Hempcrete can be bought in the United States, but the material is imported from other countries where industrial hemp can be legally grown.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:Tainted Green - Unearthing the Truth About Green
Author: Bryce Wolfe
Contact: Tainted Green - Unearthing the Truth About Green
Copyright: 2008 – 2010 Tainted Green
Website:Hemp houses offer sustainability without sacrificing style - Tainted Green
Above article links to and is referenced off this story.
Low Carbon Hemp House Put To The Test
Used to make paper, clothing and car body panels, hemp could also be used to build environmentally-friendly homes of the future say researchers at the University of Bath.
A consortium, led by the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials based at the University, has constructed a small building on the Claverton campus out of hemp-lime to test its properties as a building material.
Called the "HemPod", this one-storey building has highly insulating walls made from the chopped woody core, or shiv, of the industrial hemp plant mixed with a specially developed lime-based binder.
The hemp shiv traps air in the walls, and the hemp itself is porous, making the walls incredibly well insulated. The lime-based binder sticks together and protects the hemp and makes the building material highly fire resistant.
The industrial hemp plant takes in carbon dioxide as it grows, and the lime render absorbs even more of the climate change gas, effectively giving the building an extremely low carbon footprint.
Dr Mike Lawrence, Research Officer from the University's Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering, explained: "Whilst there are already some houses in the UK built using hemp and lime, the HemPod will be the first hemp-lime building to be constructed purely for scientific testing.
"We will be closely monitoring the house for 18 months using temperature and humidity sensors buried in the walls, measuring how quickly heat and water vapour travels through them.
"The walls are breathable and act as a sort of passive air-conditioning system, meaning that the internal humidity is kept constant and the quality of the air within the house is very good. The walls also have a 'virtual thermal mass' because of the remarkable pore structure of hemp shiv combined with the properties of the lime binder, which means the building is much more thermally efficient and the temperature inside the house stays fairly constant."
Professor Pete Walker, Director of the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, added: "The aim of the project is to provide some robust data to persuade the mainstream building industry to use this building material more widely.
"Hemp grows really quickly; it only takes the area the size of a rugby pitch to grow enough hemp in three months to build a typical three-bedroom house.
"Using renewable crops to build houses can also provide economic benefits to rural areas by opening up new agricultural markets. Farmers can grow hemp during the summer as a break crop between their main food crops, it doesn't need much water and can be grown organically.
"Every part of the plant can be used, so there's no waste — the shiv is used for building, the fibres can make car panels, clothing or paper, and the seeds can be used for food or oil. So it's a very efficient, renewable material.
"Lime has been used in construction for millennia, and combining it with industrial hemp is a significant development in the effort to make construction more sustainable."
Environmentally-friendly building materials are often more expensive than traditional materials, but the Renewable House project funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) demonstrated a cost of around £75,000 (excluding foundations) to build a three-bedroom Code 4 house from hemp-lime making it competitive with conventional bricks and mortar.
The project is sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) under the Renewable Materials LINK Programme, and brings together a team of nine partners comprising: University of Bath, BRE Ltd, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Hanson UK, Hemp Technology, Lhoist Group, Lime Technology, the NNFCC and Wates Living Space.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:Homepage | University of Bath
Contact: Homepage | University of Bath
Copyright: 2010 University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
Website:Low carbon hemp house put to the test
