US hemp building solutions provider Americhanvre is celebrating successful fire-testing of Ereasy-insulated wall assemblies.
Ereasy is a spray-on product that delivers a consistent flow of hempcrete, a building material that has been used in construction in various forms for centuries. Usually comprised of shredded/chipped hemp hurd (the woody inner core of the plant), lime and water, it may also include clay, cement and other additives. An example of ancient use still visible today can be found in India, where the walls of Ellora Caves had hempcrete plaster applied 1,500 years ago.
Among the benefits of hempcrete are high thermal mass, no toxic by-products, carbon sequestration attributes, sound dampening, pest and mold resistance, breathability and fire-resistance. Hempcrete’s carbon sequestration capabilities are particularly interesting – as well as storing carbon as the plant grows, carbon absorption continues as a hempcrete product.
While light and durable, hempcrete is not as strong structurally as conventional concrete.
The Ereasy spray-on system was originally developed in France around a decade ago and Americhanvre Cast Hemp became the North American distributor in 2021. The company recently announced Ereasy has received a one-hour fire resistance rating under ASTM E-119, which is a standard used to measure the response of materials, products, or assemblies to heat and flame under controlled conditions. Americhanvre states this was the first time a full-scale ASTM E119 test has been performed on a hempcrete wall section.
“The exterior face of this panel with the sensors was completely undamaged through the one hour firing at 1700 degrees F as well as the subsequent hose stream test,” says Americhanvre.
The company says the exterior face of the panel “never rose a single degree” above ambient temperature.
“Although the impressive fire resistance of #hempcrete has long been assumed in the United States, we now have an official one hour rating for the most common wall assembly detail with the Ereasy hempcrete system.”
Achieving the rating will help Americhanvre gain access to larger-scale commercial projects for the Ereasy system in the USA states the firm. Last year, Americhanvre received results from ASTM C-518 thermal resistance testing that confirmed its European data at an R value of R2.2/inch
Aside from insulation, hemp is being used in other building products, including particleboard. You can learn more about building with hemp here.
