Hygrothermal Assessment of a Prefabricated Timber-frame Construction Based in Hemp

Abstract

In this paper, an assessment is made on a pre-fabricated timber framed hemp-based building envelope system. The hemp-lime mixture within the envelope is produced by mixing the hemp shiv with a lime formulated solution, which acts as a binder, and provides thermal insulating and moisture buffering capacity to the resulting construction.Hemp, by its natural origin, is a fixative of CO2 and can result in a negative carbon footprint helping to reduce the global impact of a building. In addition the hemp-lime layer absorbs and expels heat and humidity in relation to the environment and acts as a thermal storage by reducing the flow of energy through the wall. The presented system targets at the generation of an innovative building system focused on the expansion of the market for structural products, sustainable, ecological and low carbon footprint.As part of its development its thermal insulation and moisture buffering properties have been assessed, and case studies and outcomes of full scale experimental studies are presented.