Ty-Mawr Welsh Wool Insulation

WELSH WOOL A WINNER FOR WARMTH


While the economy may be taking centre stage in terms of headlines at the moment, the environment, and our attitudes towards it, continues to be a key issue on the public agenda. Indeed, given the acknowledged cost saving benefits of leading a ‘greener’ life, the two subjects share a very real link and one which more and more individuals and businesses are looking to explore in these difficult times.

Saving energy equals lower carbon emissions but also equals reduced overheads. Keeping an eye on the latest innovations in energy saving technologies can therefore pay dividends. But can such products offer even more? One Brecon based company certainly thinks so.

Ty Mawr, in Llangasty, is a family run business which specialises in environmentally friendly building products ranging from lime-based mortars and plasters to sheep’s wool insulation. It is this latter product which is causing quite a stir with customers in Wales.

Ty Mawr is the sole distributor of Thermafleece in Wales, a unique form of sheep’s wool insulation manufactured by Cumbrian insulation specialists Second Nature. The product itself is made from the coarse wool of British hill sheep and in the case of Ty Mawr Thermafleece, Second Nature ensures at least 75% of the wool used originates from Welsh sheep flocks. The wool they use is often unsuitable for many other applications but is ideal for insulation because of the coarse rigid fibres.

Skeptics out there may be quick to jump in with suggestions that while ‘warm and cuddly’ as an idea, sheep’s wool insulation surely can’t be as effective as traditional mineral wool options. Well, they’d be wrong. Not only does Thermafleece hold BBA certification (meaning it fully complies with British Building Regulations) and EST (Energy Saving Trust) recommendation, it has also been shown to outperform most types of equivalent conventional insulation.

Joyce Gervis, director of Ty Mawr explains why being able to offer a product from Welsh Hill farms is so important: “We are so proud of the fact that we are able to offer Welsh customers a product that they know is helping the environment, helping them to save money on their projects, and also helping to stimulate the Welsh rural economy and create a viable market for Welsh wool in the future.

“The merchants, architects, specifiers, businesses and of course the homeowners that we supply to across the country have certainly shown a real interest in the product and have welcomed with open arms the arrival of a truly locally sourced and sustainable insulating material.”

One such happy customer is Brecon Infant School in Merthyr Tydfil. Here, Thermafleece has been used to dramatic effect as an insulator for the walls and roof of the school’s new extension but, perhaps even more excitingly, is also being used as an educational tool for the children.

 

Mrs Lambe, head teacher at Brecon Infant School said: “We use the insulation as a talking point with the children, to educate them on energy saving. It’s great that we can point out that some of the sheep we see grazing in the fields surrounding the school could have been used to help insulate it! It’s a valuable lesson for them in environmental awareness.”

In addition to its environmental credentials architect on the school project, Robert Spencer of Atkins in Cardiff, selected Thermafleece because it fitted the bill in terms of technical performance. In fact it seems that this rapidly emerging natural product ‘fits the bill’ for many other considerations too.

Longevity is one. Because Thermafleece consists of a highly bound matrix of tough and flexible coarse wool, the insulation will retain its insulation properties for its entire life which would typically exceed sixty years, substantially reducing lifetime cost. For Brecon Infant School and any other homes or businesses that install this form of sheep’s wool insulation, this means they will never have to replace it.

 

Additionally the product, which is naturally non-irritating and therefore easier to handle and install, works in sympathy with buildings in which it is installed. For instance, the wool allows the building to continue to ‘breathe’ thus regulating humidity levels. Wool also absorbs potentially harmful air pollutants improving general air quality where it is installed. These additional benefits are the reason why many choose to specify Ty Mawr Thermafleece including Lez Paylor from Creative Paper Wales, manufacturer of the famous ‘Sheep Poo PaperTM’.

Creative Paper Wales operates from Twll Golau, the only hand crafted paper mill in Wales and one of only two in the whole of the UK. Situated in Aberllefenni Slate Quarry, Twll Golau is, according to its owners, located in ‘what must be one of the wettest and windiest valleys in Wales”. As well as making the workshop a sometimes cold and draughty environment, this also caused noticeable humidity issues in the building.

“I first heard that Ty Mawr was planning to branch out into Thermafleece made primarily from Welsh sheep’s wool about a year ago so we deliberately waited until it was available to install insulation at Twll Golau. I’m so glad we did”, said Lez. “Since installing Ty Mawr Thermafleece we have definitely noticed a significant improvement in the humidity problems and the general temperature control in the workshop is much better.”

Unlike other organisations, Creative Paper Wales, also have their own very unique reasons for choosing this particular form of insulation. Lawrence Toms, Lez’s business partner explains: “As a company we are all about the environment and making the most of natural resources in an ecological way. Our most famous product, and one we sell all over the world, is ‘Sheep Poo PaperTM’, a form of paper made from using fibres recovered from the dung of sheep. With this in mind, what better way to insulate our workshop is there than to use the fleece of sheep, the very creatures that enable us to manufacture one of our most popular brands!”

Another establishment to benefit from the insulating properties of Welsh sheep’s wool is Gliffaes Hotel near Crickhowell, Powys.

Like Creative Paper Wales, Gliffaes Hotel were attracted to the Thermafleece’s ‘breathability’, largely due to the fact that this characteristic is ideally suited to maintaining heat and humidity levels in older, more historic buildings. Being sourced from Welsh sheep also held appeal for proprietors Susie and James Suter as they felt this reflected the values of their traditional country house hotel to a tee.

But by far the biggest driving force behind ‘going woolly’ was economics. Suzy said; “with energy costs rising and large bills to pay, insulating our loft became a major priority. We looked at various options but Ty Mawr Thermafleece held the strongest appeal.

“As well as saving us money on our bills, we were impressed by the benefits afforded by wool based insulation. For example, the fact that the product doesn’t ‘slump’ with age means it doesn’t lose any of its effectiveness and so doesn’t need to be replaced. When you’ve got a busy business to run, having to only do things once is an important plus!”

Important indeed, and not just for businesses. For any homeowner, laying loft insulation is typically one of the most dreaded jobs on the DIY calendar. It certainly was for Dr Gary Thomas, another Ty Mawr customer more than ready to extol the virtues of wool based insulation.

Having previously experienced breathing and skin irritations with synthetic insulation materials Dr Thomas was keen to avoid such unpleasantness when the time came to insulate the loft of his home in Cowbridge. As well as simply liking the idea of locally sourced sheep’s wool insulation and the idea of supporting Welsh businesses, this was a key factor in Dr Thomas’s decision to choose Thermafleece.

He remarked: “The thought of sheep’s wool and warmth go hand in hand really so when the opportunity came up for me to choose an irritant free, wool based loft insulation that I knew was locally sourced and easy to handle, I had no hesitation.”

Pleased as Dr Thomas is however, he does have one warning to offer other homeowners thinking of installing this exciting new product. He commented: “One drawback of using the product is the temptation to go to sleep – the fleece is so comfortable that it’s a bit too tempting to have a nap mid-installation!”

Well, if that really is the only drawback to Welsh wool insulation, Ty Mawr should be very happy. And they are.

By working with Second Nature to deliver a natural fibre insulation product that will undoubtedly help raise the profile of Welsh wool, Joyce and Nigel Gervis, the husband and wife team behind Ty Mawr, have further succeeded in demonstrating how environmental technology and innovation can go hand in hand to benefit the planet, the pocket and the Welsh economy. A warming story indeed.