Sawdust as Insulation

This page contains a list of research papers on the use of sawdust as an insulation material. Commercial extruded polystyrene sheets and fiberglass insulation are expensive, especially in the quantities required in solar passive homes -- hence the importance of local replacement materials.

(1956) TREATMENT OF SAWDUST INSULATION FOR PROTECTION AGAINST MOLD, DECAY, INSECTS, RODENTS, AND FIRE - Foresty Products Laboratory, Forest Service U. S. Department of Agriculture

Dry sawdust or planer shavings properly packed in the walls and attics of buildings afford excellent heat insulation. They have long been used for the purpose, although apparently not very extensvely . The Forest Products Laboratory is frequently asked by prospective users of such insulation for methods of treatment to prevent its being used as a nesting place for rmice, and inseets, or to increase its resistance to decay, or fire.

(1990) COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INSULATING MATERIALS IN SOLAR WATER STORAGE SYSTEMS

The sawdust was tested as an insulating material in the storage system and compared in its performance with the fibreglass wool storage system for hot water applications under similar conditions. From this study, it has been observed that the sawdust storage system also gave good performance for retaining the solar heated hot water up to the following evening. The solar water heating efficiency has been found to be in the range of 46.9-47.1% (fibreglass wool storage system) compared to 46.0-46.4% (sawdust storage system). The storage efficiency of retaining the solar heat for a night duration at different intervals of storage periods was observed from 61.5 to 65.5% (fibreglass wool storage system) and from 56.8 to 64.4% (sawdust storage system). Based on these investigations, the low cost and widely available sawdust may also be successfully employed as an insulating material in solar water heaters for retaining the hot water up to the following evening.

(1959) A STUDY OF THE LIME MORTAR BRICKWORK OF A 26-YEAR-OLD HOUSE - NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA

During construction the brickwork had been back-plastered and a space which had been left between the bricks and the tiles was filled with sawdust insulation.

note: This article isn't about insulation -- it is just interesting to note that many old structures used to use sawdust as insulation before everyone switched to commercial products.