Wallace & Gromit insulation idea gives welcome at National Trust village - January 10th 2010

Wallace & Gromit insulation idea gives welcome at National Trust village

Coleshill houses all wrapped up and ready for winter with 11,000 fleeces

A wacky idea that appeared in a recent npower insulation campaign featuring Wallace & Gromit is being put into practice at a National Trust village in Oxfordshire.

In the advert, Wallace & Gromit insulate their loft using a flock of sheep to improve the energy efficiency of their home.

Now 53 homes in the historic village of Coleshill are being installed with 5,000 m2 of sheep’s wool to insulate the buildings, using approximately 11,000 fleeces!

The work is the first significant milestone in a project recently announced by the National Trust and its energy partner npower [1] to help residents of the Trust-owned village of Coleshill reduce CO2 emissions and lower energy bills.

Janette Nadin, a resident of Coleshill has lived in the village for 15 years, said: "I am really looking forward to feeling the difference the insulation will make to my house this winter. As well as saving money it is great to feel that we are making a difference to the environment by lessening our CO2 output. Also by installing sheep's wool we are using a natural product which puts to good use what is essentially a waste product.

“This project certainly gives the feel good factor as it offers a real win-win situation in terms of doing something towards helping to protect our planet as well as for our own benefit.”

Jo Trussler, Coleshill Low Carbon Village Project Coordinator said: “Sheep’s wool is a brilliant material for insulation in our historic buildings, as it breathes and ‘manages’ moisture in lofts and roofs as well as keeping the heat in.

“It can be a little more expensive so is not the choice for everyone, but it’s great to see the idea applied quite literally by Wallace & Gromit in the recent npower campaign, although they might have wanted to shear the sheep first!”

Coleshill is one of a number of National Trust estates to install sheep wool insulation.

Other estates include 51 farms and 38 cottages on the National Trust’s Ysbyty Ifan Estate near Betws-y-Coed in North Wales and 36 properties at the village of Wallington in Northumberland.

In Wales, the properties have been insulated with 3,000m2 of sheep’s wool with tenants expecting to see a saving of up to 20 per cent in their energy consumption as a result of the new insulation.

The idea has been especially welcomed by the sheep farmers who live on the estate, who see a major benefit in the new market emerging for wool products, and a further 38 farms in south Wales are now to be installed with 1,000m2 of wool.

Kevin Peake, marketing director at npower, the National Trust’s energy partner which ran the insulation campaign, [2] said: “Insulation is one of the most effective ways in which we can all reduce our energy consumption and therefore our bills. It is incumbent upon us all to play a part, however small, in reducing our impact on the environment.

“To date our campaign has increased the number of insulation enquiries we receive by 150% and we’re hoping that more people will look to save money through insulation as the weather turns colder. Whether they choose to have insulation professionally fitted or go the DIY route with Rockwool or sheep’s wool insulation, people can really make a difference to their heating bills.”