What is embodied energy?

Embodied energy is the energy required to produce the material and manufacture it to a building-grade insulation standard. It is typically measured in kiloWatt Hours per cubic metre (kWh/m3). Wool insulation contains the least embodied energy of any insulation available, meaning that in a very short time, it will save more energy than will have gone into its production. Most common insulation materials will take many years to achieve this break-even point and some will never reach it at all. The embodied energy of Sheep Wool Insulation is 15kWh m-3 (54MJ m-3) which is less than half of that of cellulose insulation and one sixth of that of mineral wool.