This idea seems, to myself and other commenters, like one that someone should have thought of long before fiberglass insulation ever came into being. I know firsthand how toasty it gets between a sheep's wool and its skin. I once tried, with the help of a friend, to shear a sheep using hand shears, and the heat underneath that thick blanket of wool was stifling. That is not the only reason a pair of electric shears is worth the three-hundred dollar price tag. For so many other reasons, however, wool is such a superior insulating material than fiberglass. Safety is a huge consideration. Breathing fiberglass fibers is dangerous; even touching the stuff is irritating to the skin. If allergies are a concern with wool, I can at least speak for a certain population of allergy sufferers in saying that the primary allergen in wool is lanolin, and that is washed out in any cleaning process prior to manufacturing the insulation. I would think the remaining sufferers would have primarily contact allergies, which are generally nowhere as severe as contact with fiberglass and since insulation is not intended for contact with skin, should not be an issue. Sheep Wool Insulation Ltd. is located in Ireland, so geography makes wool insulation a bit logistically challenging for American consumers, but as with any new concept, availability is sure to increase with demand (and since I happen to know that the sheep ranching industry in the U.S. has been suffering as of late, this might be a nice boon to their business).
This idea seems, to myself and other commenters, like one that someone should have thought of long before fiberglass insulation ever came into being. I know firsthand how toasty it gets between a sheep's wool and its skin. I once tried, with the help of a friend, to shear a sheep using hand shears, and the heat underneath that thick blanket of wool was stifling. That is not the only reason a pair of electric shears is worth the three-hundred dollar price tag. For so many other reasons, however, wool is such a superior insulating material than fiberglass. Safety is a huge consideration. Breathing fiberglass fibers is dangerous; even touching the stuff is irritating to the skin. If allergies are a concern with wool, I can at least speak for a certain population of allergy sufferers in saying that the primary allergen in wool is lanolin, and that is washed out in any cleaning process prior to manufacturing the insulation. I would think the remaining sufferers would have primarily contact allergies, which are generally nowhere as severe as contact with fiberglass and since insulation is not intended for contact with skin, should not be an issue. Sheep Wool Insulation Ltd. is located in Ireland, so geography makes wool insulation a bit logistically challenging for American consumers, but as with any new concept, availability is sure to increase with demand (and since I happen to know that the sheep ranching industry in the U.S. has been suffering as of late, this might be a nice boon to their business).