Largely manufactured from recycled glass (e.g. windscreens) and mineral base materials such as sand and without the use of binding agents. The ingredients are melted into molten glass, which is cooled and crushed into a fine powder. The powdered glass is poured into molds and heated (below the melting point) in a "sintering" process that causes the particles to adhere to one another. Next, a small amount of finely ground carbon-black is added and the material is heated in a "cellulation" process. Here, the carbon reacts with oxygen, creating carbon dioxide, which creates the insulating bubbles in the (material). CO2 accounts for more than 99% of the gas in the cellular spaces.
Cellulose insulation is a material made from recycled newspaper. The paper is shredded and inorganic salts, such as boric acid, are added for resistance to fire, mould, insects and vermin. The insulation is installed either blown or damp-sprayed depending on application.
Wood fibre
The success of wood fibre insulation derives from an attractive environmental profile combined with a whole bag of functions including rigid insulation, sheathing and sarking for timber frames, roofs and flooring as well as flexible insulation for studs and rafters.
Wood of course is renewable, it sequesters carbon during its growth and product production is relatively free from pollution. The insulation value of wood fibre boards is not as dimensionally efficient as some of the orthodox petro-chemical materials - but it's no slouch either - typically coming in with a 'k value' range of between 0.038-0.043 W/mK depending on format.
Hemp
Hemp fibres are produced from hemp straw of the hemp plant. Most hemp is imported, but an increasing amount of home-grown crop is becoming available. Hemp grows up to a height of nearly 4 metres within a period of 100-120 days. Because the plants shade the soil, no chemical protection or toxic additives are required for hemp cultivation. The product is composed of, usually, 85% hemp fibre with the ballance made up of polyester binding and 3-5% soda added for fire proofing.
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such asbarley, oats, rice, rye and wheat.
50-100mm PIR rigid insulation boards are general purpose rigid panels with thicknesses ranging from 50mm to 100mm, designed for application such as walls, floors, flat roofs and pitched roofs, timber framed & steel framed systems, concrete slab ground floors and external cavity wall linings. These boards have also been ranked high amongst some of the best green insulation options for contributing absolutely zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and for a low global warming potential. Both the blowing agent mix and the solid polyisocyanurate (PIR) used to manufacture this product, amongst many others, are environmentally friendly. Being >100kPa tough, they do not break easily. The entire thickness range offers a low thermal conductivity (lambda value) of 0.022 W/mK, putting boards among the best-performing general purpose insulation materials on the UK market. This group of PIR insulating boards has gained in popularity being widely available in the most favoured stores such as Wickes, B&Q or Screwfix. Many PIR insulation brands, such as Celotex, Xtratherm, Kingspan or Recticel come with a grid marked on, which can act as a guide to help ensure the thermal insulation board is cut in a straight line. For more information on how to cut PIR insulation click here.
PIR INSULATION PRICES
The amount of money you spend on insulation can vary greatly depending on the thickness, so it's important to know what you're getting before you buy. For sure, PIR insulation is a cost-effective building material that will pay for itself over time. General purpose boards are simply a better solution, enabling greater savings and better thermal insulation than standard polystyrene or mineral wool. The price of PIR insulation often depends on two factors. The first is the brand itself. When buying well-known brands, we often pay for the name itself. The second factor is the supplier location ('near me'). When buying PIR from local building merchants such as Wickes, B&Q we pay for 'off the shelf product', we can touch and see it physically, while with an online supplier like us, you can only get better deals without seeing a product. It is because products come to you directly from the manufacturer without involving middlemen.
PIR INSULATION THICKNESS
The typical length and width of a PIR board is 2400mm by 1200mm. Each sheet is 8' x 4' and covers 2.88m2. PIR insulation boards are available in a range of thicknesses such as 50mm, 55mm, 60mm, 65mm, 70mm, 75mm, 80mm, 90mm and 100mm. The most commonly used thicknesses are 50mm, 75mm and 100mm.
PIR RIGID INSULATION BOARDS MANUFACTURERS
Depending of thickness and brand, rigid insulation boards come in multiple name options, including Celotex GA4000, Xtratherm Thin-R, Kingspan TF70, Kingspan TP10, Kingspan TW55, Recticel Eurothane GP, Quinntherm, EcoTherm EcoVersal, IKO Enertherm ALU and Ballytherm PIR. Confusingly, one Kingspan board carries three of the codes "TP10", "TF70" and "TW55" - this is the same board, so the codes can be used interchangeably! In performance terms, the Therma range boards directly compare with the Celotex GA4000 range. Thermapitch is Kingspan roof insulation board and is made for use as pitched roof insulation. This would usually be their range of PIR insulation boards from 50 mm to 150mm which can be friction fit in between rafters. In addition a thinner layer of Kingspan TP10 under the rafters to cover any possible cold bridging through the timbers. These thermal bridging boards would usually be from 25mm to 40mm thick.
100mm EcoTherm EcoVersal PIR Insulation Board 5 in 1 Solution is a universal multi-purpose fibre free rigid polyisocyanurate insulation core faced with an aluminium foil composite on both sides designed for insulating pitched roofs, floors, walls, ceilings and dormer cheeks.
Ecotherm Eco-Versal 2..
