Havelock Wool Van Insulation for Vanlife
Van Insulation Havelock Wool
Van Conversion Insulation with Quality Wool Fibre
Wool Insulation is easy to install
The Advantage of Wool Insulation for your Van is its Sound Absorption.
Wool Insulation helps keep your vehicle dry.
Wool Insulation for your van
Havelock Wool is renewable, sustainable, biodegradable, and compostable.
Wool Insulation is inexpensive because you don’t need additional materials such as a vapour barrier.
Havelock Wool Process
Van Conversion Insulation Havelock Wool Controls Moisture

HAVELOCK WOOL

$240.00
$240.00
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Havelock Wool simply sources the best fibres for use in their wool insulation. These choices are driven by experience, insight, science, and innovation. The fibres they use are a proven dynamic—they shear them from a particular variety of sheep, the most ideal for insulation.

Their insulation is not made from wool scraps. Rather than, the method is an exceptional quality wool fibre through their assembling process. This yields a standardized, efficient, high-performance, and durable item.

We offer special orders for other insulation projects such as houses, cottages and garages contact us for more information.

HOW MUCH WOOL DO I NEED?

The table underneath will guide you on the required coverage and boxes. 

This is an approximative table number that may vary depending on your van conversion design. Note that the estimates exclude floor measurements.

We recommend measuring that area and the depth of your floors. 

Van Type Coverage # of 100 sqft Boxes
Sprinter 144 300 sqft 3
Sprinter 170 375 sqft 4-5
Sprinter 170 Ext 400 sqft 4-6
Transit 148 325 sqft 3-4
Promaster 159 325 sqft 4
Mercedes Metric 225 sqft 2-3
Chevy Express 225 sqft 3
Nissan NV 325 sqft 4

HOW WOOL COMPARES AGAINST OTHER INSULATION

WHY INSULATE YOUR VAN, BUS, OR RV WITH HAVELOCK WOOL?

Havelock Wool insulation is a company that uses sustainable building materials. Their product is 100% wool and is perfect for insulating your van
Insulate your van with sheep wool, its sound absorption, R7 value and oversees condensation

CONDENSATION

Condensation occurs in your vehicle therefore you want hygroscopic insulation that effectively oversees condensation, helping keep your vehicle dry and free from any form of mould, and rust.

R-VALUE

Havelock Wool figures at a remarkable R-Value per inch of 3.6. 2″ batts are at R7 and the more you install the greater the R-Value.

SOUND ABSORPTION

Havelock Wool exceeds at retaining the outside sound and diminishing undesirable noise. This makes your experience in your vehicle a more enjoyable spot to be.

Insulate your van with sheep wool, it’s sustainable, inexpensive and effortless to install

SUSTAINABILITY

Havelock Wool is renewable, sustainable, biodegradable, and compostable. Its general carbon impression is incredibly low.

INEXPENSIVE AND EFFORTLESS TO INSTALL

The advantage of wool is that it absorbs sound and is resistant to moisture. There is no need to use additional materials such as soundproofing or vapour barrier. Wool works best on its own, so less expensive and a simple installation.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHY WOOL ?

Wool is the ultimate moisture manager. In the form of vapour, condensation, or water—moisture will inevitably make its way into your walls. You need an insulation that actively manages that moisture, helping keep your vehicle dry and free of mould and mildew.

Unlike any other insulation, wool is naturally able to absorb moisture while still retaining its high insulating properties. When the ambient air dries (>65%) wool will release the moisture into the air.

The result is a long lasting, non-slumping, high performance insulation that keeps your walls dry and temperatures more constant. 

Simply put to temporarily absorb excess moisture and then release it back into space when conditions change. Moisture in a cavity is inevitable, even an airtight one, given the simple properties of condensation and vapour drive.

Taking its presence as a given, moisture needs an escape path. Humidity needs to be managed to avoid rust and mold. If you have Havelock Wool, then you have a wildly dynamic fibre working in your favour. It will take moisture in when the ambient air exceeds 65% relative humidity. When those levels drop below the threshold, moisture is dissolved adding to temperature control and indoor air quality.

The most common way to measure insulation products is by R Value which denotes resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power.

Havelock Wool comes in at an impressive R Value PER INCH of 3.6. But R Value is not the only way to measure insulation.

What happens when moisture is introduced into an environment?

The R Value can plummet. To sustain high performance (high R Value), your insulation also needs to actively manage moisture and stay dry. Havelock Wool does just that. Because wool is a hygroscopic insulator, it can absorb moisture without becoming wet to the touch and without affecting its superior performance.

A Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) is a rating for how much sound a material absorbs. Like a sponge absorbs water, insulation absorbs sound, and the NRC tells us just how much sound gets soaked up.

The higher the NRC rating, the better the sound absorption. So, a material with an NRC of 1 absorbs 100% of sound. In the insulation world, NRC is an important factor because along with regulating temperature, insulation should also keep your living space quiet.

Havelock Wool’s NRC of 90% beats most other insulation mediums. To be fair, there are some products with a slightly higher NRC but those tend to be designed specifically for sound absorption.

As such, they fall short on other important metrics like R-Value and not to mention moisture management, air filtration, and sustainability. 

Wool has excellent sound deadening characteristics. You would be hard pressed to find a higher performing material for sound abatement. Noise reduction coefficients are out performers when tested.

Anecdotally we constantly hear folks telling us how quiet their vans become once the wool is introduced—note the ability to stuff wool in the headliner and voids indoors as a true difference maker.

Havelock Wool is a truly sustainable building material, from its production to the end of its life. Our overall carbon emissions stack up extremely favourably compared to any other insulation material.

Their raw material is not petrochemical-based and their process is not energy-intensive. They use repurposed textile machinery that runs on electricity.

Further, wool is biodegradable and compostable unlike mainstream insulation which will sit in a landfill, or, worse, on the ocean floor for the next 1,000 years. So, after a very long life, wool can be placed back in the earth where it will break down on its own and actually fertilize the soil.

This answer is both simple and complex. The former is easy—the alternatives are toxic garbage. Conversely, there is nothing like a wool fibre.

Wool fibre has evolved to protect sheep from the elements—hot and cold; damp and dry. The same goes for your van.

Wool inherently manages moisture against 65% relative humidity, absorbs harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, NOx and SO2, crushes road noise and can be reused or composted.

Talk about a standout for wool. Other forms of insulation will emit something not good for you.

Wool, conversely, will irreversibly bond with formaldehyde, NOx, and SO2.

There is NO OTHER INSULATION material, available that will provide this service to your space.

HOW DOES WOOL COMPARE?

NO! Cotton absorbs water and is treated with chemicals to be temporarily hydrophobic.

Fibreglass acts like a sponge and then turns into a mouldy science project gone wrong.

Cellulose is paper, attracts moisture and this too will become a mouldy disaster waiting to happen.

Rock Wool is laden with chemical binders and uses an absurd amount of energy to create the product while emitting particulate and harmful chemicals into our fresh air as part of the process. And it does nothing to manage moisture.

Thinsulate does not absorb water, but then where does the water go? It collects in the bottom of the cavity.

Foam will not absorb water either but instead forces the water into the cavity to collect and corrode.

Wool absorbs and releases moisture, absorbing too much when it is present and releasing it back into your space when dry.

No. Well, maybe if you put it outside your van or in the windows. It is designed to reflect the sun. It has no place inside for all sorts of reasons—not least it needs an air gap to work properly, which is highly unlikely to be consistent in a van.

Thinsulate was originally purposed in automobiles for sound attenuation. Wool is a better insulator and also better at minimizing sound.

Thinsulate is certainly the lesser of other insulation evil mediums but similarly underperforming by comparison to our favourite natural fibre.

Also, why would you want to support a chemical company like 3M? They are trashing our environment. 3M/Thinsulate pollutes groundwater demand more from the companies you support!

Yes. Why would you ever put a toxic, petrochemical-based material in a confined space?

Foam is a nasty material that should be discontinued. It does not address moisture challenges, is unsafe to breathe, makes noise when driving and is likely to spend a few thousand years in the ocean once your van is repurposed.

Please use common sense and don’t use foam. Foam board is cheap! we get it. You may find that the lure of cheap materials is outweighed by the headache and time needed to install.

Havelock Sheep’s wool is quick to install, you can’t get it wrong and is so much more effective in the real-world environment of a van facing moisture challenges. Using 15 cans of “great stuff” to glue the foam board in, seems very counter-intuitive to a healthy space.

MEASURING AND INSTALLING

Easy. Use hugely versatile 2″ batts. They are fast and easy to install as they rip into “puffs” and can be peeled into thinner layers or layered to make thicker. Batts in walls, floor and ceiling and “puffs” in nooks and crannies.

Also, don’t be afraid to be creative. A string can hold batts in place, you can stuff behind T&G boards or finished wall coverings as they go up. Said another way, we support creative alternatives over adhesives and other forms of “traditional” methods.

Your insulation should be as thick as your build will allow. We typically see 2″ batts used across the van. Some spaces more and some less. There is a surprising amount of room in the headliner. Measure the square footage and note the desired depth; you will then know what to buy and how much. Each box of 2″ covers 100 sq. ft.

Casting aside complexities, the easy answer is to say as much as you can fit in the space. The structure is a metal box; it changes temperature rapidly. Mitigating contact between the living space and the exterior elements is paramount to an enjoyable environment.

Insulation will help dramatically and should be placed across the entire thermal bridge for the best results. That said, there is a chart with suggestions that draws from our experience in the space on the Quantity Needed tab.

Yes, although time-consuming this is a terrific way to increase thermal efficiency.

Keep it simple. Measure the area you plan to insulate (height and length) and take note of the average depth. Once you have the square footage apply the associated depths and you will have an idea for insulation needed.

An average build uses 2–3 boxes of batts. Any overage should be used for stuffing all the various holes, door panels, headliners, nooks, and crannies.

Insulate each of them with wool. Our experience would suggest building the floor up slightly from factory specs to allow for extra insulation to reduce road noise and minimize a cold/hot floor depending on the season.

Walls can vary based on the finish—panels or T&G. The same goes for the ceiling. Wool does well in all scenarios, it can just require varied creativity to keep the batts in place until the finished product is installed. Call us for ideas!

Yes, if you are sleeping or cooking then you will want one of these. Again, you live in a metal box, and it needs some ventilation.

VANLIFE SCIENCE

If a highly conductive material like metal reaches from the exterior to the interior of a van, it will carry temperature differential in either direction.

To simplify, think of a metal beam exposed to the inside and outside of a building. Now imagine cold wintry temperatures. The beam will carry the cold exterior temperatures within an inch (or finished wall thickness) of your living space and create noticeable cold spots. This is thermal bridging in its most simplistic form.

Now fast forward to your van. The whole thing is a thermal bridge. Ideally, you will find ways to create a gap or thermal break between the metal structure and your finished wall.

Condensation is the conversion of a vapour or a gas to a liquid. It most often refers to the cycle of water.

Think of it this way: you just bought a loaf of bread at a bakery and are sitting at a table having a coffee in the sun. The bread and the (plastic) bag start to dry; as it heats in the sun, suddenly there is noticeable moisture inside the sealed bag. Say hello to condensation. This is one example of many for this occurrence.

Now think of the environments you and your van are likely to frequent and you’ll appreciate the inevitability of condensation.

Also, we suggest you let condensation concern you more than road noise. In the space between your van interior and the walls, condensation will flourish. If you insert the wrong materials so too will mould. Exposure to whatever grows inside your rig is unhealthy at best and dangerous at worst.

Put it in the garbage. Condensation is inevitable and entirely unavoidable. Plan for escape routes.

ADDITIONAL FAQS

The same principle applies for insulation in hot or cold climates. It serves as a barrier for thermal transfer. Insulation works both ways it keeps you warm in the winter and keeps you cool in the summer.

An additional benefit of wool: the release and capture of moisture will help modulate the temperature making you feel warmer in colder environments and cooler in warmer ones.

No. Havelock Wool applies a minor amount of boric acid (less than 1% by weight), which is all-natural and non-toxic, as an insect repellent. In addition, it is often the lanolin that attracts pests.

The wool comes from NZ where the most advanced scouring (cleaning) techniques in the world are employed to ensure a consistent, clean fibre is provided for our process.

Havelock Wool may initially have a benign “barnyard” smell that will dissipate over time. Opening the box and letting your wool expend and breathe for a day or two will hasten this process. Not only will your wool lose all its smell, but it will also actually work to become an odour neutralizer.

TESTIMONIALS

“This is awesome stuff to work with. Really easy to fit into tight spaces or big spaces. So user friendly. Love it. Can’t imagine ever using anything else for insulation.”

– Eugenie, Seattle WA

“Have had Havelock batts in my rig for just over 4 years. Am really happy with the insulation, sound deadening and all around comfortable feel. Thanks to the furry coats in NZ and Havelock Wool!”

– Andrew, Tuscon AZ

“Our van sounded like a big metal box when we bought it. After installing Havelock Wool it was quieter than our Honda Crosstour. So glad we decided to go with Wool over some chemical laden man made insulation!”

– James H, Littleton NH