Abstract
The ecological footprint of residential buildings has seen a significant increase due to the permanent desire to improve comfort and aesthetics. The construction and rehabilitation of the existing building stock in accordance with the European standards known as “passive house”, implies the minimization of external energy consumption. Thus, the thermal insulation materials used to reduce heat transfer play an essential role in the effort to reduce the environmental footprint generated by residential buildings. Hemp is an important candidate for making heat-insulating materials. Hemp stems find their use as basic fibres inside non-woven materials used to produce heat-insulating materials with applications in the field of construction or composite materials. The energy balance between the amount of energy saved and that of obtaining heat-insulating materials, as well as the type of raw materials used for their manufacture, is a critical factor for achieving the goal of reducing ecological impact.