To say anything is the best insulation for homes is clearly a subjective statement and I’ve no doubt there are people out there who may disagree.
PIR rigid board is one of the most efficient thermal insulation material used in construction industry. Often classified as a best insulation for homes.
Polyisocyanurate named as PIR, is a thermoset plastic typically produced as a foam and used as rigid thermal insulation. The starting materials are similar to those used in polyurethane (PUR) except that the proportion of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) is higher and a polyester-derived polyol is used in the reaction instead of a polyether polyol.
The gas which is trapped in the closed cells of the insulation has a very low thermal conductivity.
This low thermal conductivity makes the insulation perform better than if it just had air trapped in the cells (a bit like using argon gas in double or triple glazed window units). Of the total volume of the rigid insulation board around 97% of it is gas.
Its thermal conductivity has a typical value of (0.023 W/(m·K)) PIR foam panels laminated with pure embossed aluminium foil are used for fabrication of pre-insulated duct that is used for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Prefabricated PIR sandwich panels are manufactured with corrosion-protected, corrugated steel facings bonded to a core of PIR foam and used extensively as roofing insulation and vertical walls ( warehousing, factories, office buildings etc.). Other typical uses for PIR foams include industrial and commercial pipe insulation, and carving/machining media (competing with expanded polystyrene and rigid polyurethane foams).
PIR insulation boards are easy to cut. PIR boards are typically used as wall, floor and roof insulation and as already stated are most commonly bonded to aluminium foil (helps form a vapour barrier) but can also be bonded to plywood, plasterboard or have a glass tissue facing for use externally or in flat roofs.
If you were building a new property or extending you would normally install it in the cavities or in the stud work during construction.
But if you’re refurbishing an older property with solid walls (no cavities) it can be applied either inside a timber frame internally or more often by way of insulated plasterboard (where the rigid foam is pre-applied to the back of the plasterboard in varying thicknesses).
PIR insulation boards do tend to offer 90% of the results at a cheaper price than phenolic boards.
If you're considering using PIR insulation contact us for more information.
