Mushrooms - the great insulator?

Mushrooms could soon be used to insulate homes. That's right. An American company has invented a pioneering product called (not very inventively) "Greensulation".

The product is currently undergoing testing, but its makers say it could potentially hit the market as soon as 2010.
These chaps have produced an insulator using our friend the mushroom - plus rice hulls and recycled paper. When mixed together with water and hydrogen peroxide, placed in plastic containers and put in a dark place it then literally grows into shape.

So now not only can you insulate yourself against the cold with a piping hot bowl of wild mushroom soup - you can put the stuff into your homes and keep the whole family warm!

Keep yourself warm this winter with mushrooms!

We all know that insulation is key to keeping your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It's important to insulate well in order to reduce the amount of energy you use.

Traditional fibreglass used in insulation batting can irritate your skin, eyes and airways amd foam plastic insulation contains petrochemicals. But now the humble mushroom is poised to come to the rescue!

A new insulating product is set to enter the insulation market within the next two years. The product, called Greensulate, is fire-retardant, biodegradable and requires no petrochemicals for its production - because it is grown from Mycelia, the roots of mushrooms.

Is there no end to the number of benefits to be gained from our fungi friends??

Not just tasty but ....

..... good for insulating your home!

Really?

Well, according to a report in the Boston Globe yesterday, our favourite veg is also set to become part of our fight to conserve energy.

Most of the time, having fungus or mould of any kind in your home is a big, big problem. But not so for inventors Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre. Together they have created an organic insulation made from mushrooms.

Both graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, they have created a patented technology called "Greensulate" — a fire-retardant board made of water, flour, and oyster mushrooms. Although the technology is still in development and estimated to be more than a year from release to the market.

What next? Tomatoes to offset your carbon footprint? Broccoli to replace tar in road construction?

You just never know .....