Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Spain: Saint-Gobain Isover has launched APTA Arena 48, a 48mm thick variant of its sand mineral wool product. It is intended for use with internal partition walls with the 48mm grid system. The product offers thermal resistance of 1.40m2K/W with λ = 34mW/mK.

France: LafargeHolcim subsidiary LafargeFrance has relaunched its Airium mineral foam, a concrete block additive, for a new application, namely roof insulation. The company says that Airium has a lifespan of 50 years and “retains heat in winter like most insulation, while also preserving buildings’ freshness in summer” thanks to its phase shift time of over nine hours.

Lafarge France developed the new application in partnership with coatings producer PRB. It said, “We select premium applicators (blowers) from suppliers from LafargeHolcim’s screeds and PRB coatings network. The PRB and Airium partnership thus takes on its full meaning and ensures quality service to new users.”

UK: Knauf Insulation has launched a new product in its Earthwool Soffit Linerboard range, intended for use in car parks, stadiums and commercial units. Rock mineral wool product manager Luke Davies said, “Specifications for non-combustible soffit insulation are likely to increase as building regulations evolve further and soffit applications become a focus for fire safety. We’ve improved Earthwool Soffit Linerboard to give customers the best possible solution to respond to this demand.”

The product uses tube washers instead of all-steel for ease of installation and each board has greater rigidity than previous products to reduce susceptibility to thermal bridging. Knauf Insulation says that its ECOSE Technology bio-based binder makes Earthwool Soffit Linerboard soft, durable, easy to handle and low in dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

US: Owens Corning has announced a new line of extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam insulation products called Foamular NGX. It is set to go on sale in the US and Canada in January 2021. It says that the proprietary blowing agent in the products deliver a 90% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) without sacrificing product performance. It is Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listed, Factory Mutual (FM) approved and compliant with regulations set to take effect in Canada and some US states in January 2021. The environmental benefits of the products will be reflected in a new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The new product line will retain the signature Owens Corning pink colour.

US: DuPont plans to launch new extruded polystyrene foam insulation products in its Styrofoam brand with reduced global warming potential (GWP) from the start of 2021 to meet its 2030 Sustainability Goals and comply with adopted and upcoming state and provincial hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) regulations throughout the US and Canada. The company also expects a reduction in embodied carbon to be reflected in an updated Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which will be available with the new products.

"We are taking a thoughtful, phased approach to launching this latest Styrofoam innovation to ensure we are providing a sustainable, code-approved solution that does not sacrifice the performance our customers have come to trust," said Tim Lacey, Global Vice President & General Manager, DuPont Performance Building Solution.

France: Saint-Gobain’s Point.P construction materials and building products distribution brand has put together a specific range of bio-sourced insulation materials. The materials include wood fibre and hemp-based materials. Point.P says that these products account for 10% of the insulation market. The new range has been developed in response to new expectations expressed by trades professionals and individuals.

UK: Knauf Insulation has developed a tool that uses machine learning techniques to measure the energy performance of individual homes. The method can generate an assessment of fabric performance of a residential building within three months, according to BusinessGreen. The product is intended to provide evidence to support the building fabric component of a building's energy performance certificate (EPC) rating, as opposed to Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) calculations. Such evidence could be used to support return on investment calculations for energy efficiency retrofit programmes.

Canada: Rockwool North America has released its Safe’n’Sound stone wool insulation product in a new thickness of 15.24cm (6”). The new thickness offering is planned to help reduce installation time. The product is designed for fire insulation and sound dampening between floors.

Germany: Declare has certified Knauf Insulation’s Supafil blowing wool insulation ‘Red List Free’. The declaration signifies that Supafil contains no Red-Listed chemicals designated as harmful to health by the International Living Future Institute. Knauf Insulation Blowing Wool business development & residential market manager Thomas Baguette said, “Our Declare label underlines the natural credentials of our blowing wool. Supafil is composed of 99% glass mineral wool and less than 1% of antidust and antistatic.”

Spain: Isover has launched APTA Arena, a new product in its APTA sand mineral wool line. It says it is intended for interior divisions offering high thermal and acoustic performance. The product is also made from over 50% of recycled materials and can be fully recycled after use.