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APPOINTMENTS & NEWS
Has the construction industry got it wrong about spray foam insulation?
A
new generation of breathable, spray foam insulation that lets buildings breathe and doesn’t trap moisture, could keep buildings warm and reduce energy bills drastically. With energy costs going through the roof, high performance spray foam insulation solutions should be at the forefront of the battle against climate change, so why has it taken so long to win the hearts and minds of construction industry specifi ers?
For years the industry has been reluctant to accept spray applied insulation as spray foam is usually associated with poor installation practices under the roof. Situations such as encased roofi ng timbers, dry rot and, in some cases, complete roof collapse. As a consequence, many builders and architects have avoided it and some surveyors and mortgage lenders have blacklisted this type of insulation. Unfortunately, a combination of bad practice,
“H2 Foam Lite was fi rst developed in the mid-1980s in Canada, where they endure famously long and harsh winters. It came over to Europe in the 2000s and has been used in the UK since 2008. It is BBA certifi ed so that when used correctly, it is building regulations-compliant and it compares very well with more familiar insulation products.” Open cell spray foam is applied as a two- component mixture forming a foam that expands 100 times its original size within seconds of application, adhering to almost all substrates and sealing gaps, service holes and hard to reach spaces, virtually eliminating cold bridging and air leakage.
Unlike the polyurethane foams of 20 years
inappropriate use and rogue installers has given a good product a bad name. Paddy Leighton, who was the original UK distributor of spray foam insulation, Icynene, now manufactured by Huntsman Building Solutions (HBS) under the name of H2 Foam Lite, explains.
ago, modern spray foams such as H2 Foam Lite use water as the blowing agent. This means that the reaction between the two components produces CO2 which causes the foam to expand. As H2 Foam Lite expands, the cells of the foam burst and the CO2 is replaced by air.
Flexible and breathable composition Throughout its working life, the foam remains soft and elastic, retaining its air tightness characteristics and accommodating any slight movements in the roof structure.
The breathability of the foam helps dissipate air-born moisture, so condensation and any risk of decay or damage to timber joists is prevented. This fl exibility and breathability is particularly advantageous in historic buildings, where the building fabric often has a tendency to move. Furthermore, the fact that spray foam can be injected means that inaccessible voids can be fi lled without removing coverings.
large areas of wall or
ceiling Authorised installers simply
make a small hole and, once the foam has been installed, they can check it with infra-red tools to ensure that all areas have adequate coverage.
From an environmental perspective, HBS H2 Foam Lite has a Global Warming Potential of 1 and an Ozone Depletion Potential of Zero. Nor does H2 Foam Lite or any other HBS spray foam insulation emit harmful gases once cured.
Real world performance
Although there is often a discrepancy between manufacturer performance-claims and actual results in real-life building environments, in Aberdeenshire,
conservationists working with Robert Gordon University on a historic
Spray foam insulation contributed to a conservation project on this historic farmhouse in Aberdeenshire
Heat loss was reduced by 56% after installing only very thin layers of injected foam behind lath and plaster wall facings
ADF11_Icynene / Huntsman_DPS
Adv.indd 2
31/10/2022 11:43
WWW.BUILDINGCONSTRUCTIONDESIGN.CO.UK
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