The nvirohaus adopts the Hempcell system which combines hemcrete, a bio-composite building material made from hemp shiv (the woody core of industrial hemp) and a lime based binder, together with hemp fibre insulation in a timber module giving the following properties:-
■ Good thermal insulation
■ Excellent thermal inertia
■ Negative embodied carbon
■ Natural materials with low environmental impact
■ Made from renewable/abundant UK materials
This natural core of the system has a unique combination of insulation and thermal inertia and these properties in an nvirohaus home designed to Passivhaus standards combine to create a very stable internal environment that need very little heating or cooling. The combination of natural materials in the system locks carbon into the building fabric thus reducing the embodied energy, a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere in the production of building materials and the construction process and which contributes to Global Warming.