Thermal Insulation Engineered to Perform

Building services engineers bring buildings to life. Thermobreak^® Insulation is engineered to maintain the long lasting health and efficiency of buildings and is the preeminent insulation solution for building services engineers.

Considering all thermal insulation products experience changes to their thermal conductivity over time material quality, durability and type play a huge factor in sustained energy savings.  Insulation systems with precarious vapour permeance performance are a leading cause of condensation and corrosion within building services and structures. There is also another significant consequence of water vapour transmission that is often overlooked – the degradation of insulation performance over time and the resulting loss of energy efficiency. In ambient conditions where high relative humidity exists water vapour drives into porous insulation materials compromising the stated performance and in many cases saturating the insulation.

While laboratory tests result in accredited insulation products, these tests are performed in controlled environments and do not represent timeline degradation of the product under different condition-related exposures in situ. By analysing 10 year thermal conductivity changes under various conditions, product performance can be cross-referenced with the conditions of the project’s location allowing specifiers to ensure long-term performance.  High water vapour transmission typically means faster degradation of insulation performance.  It is also important to choose an insulation system that is not purely reliant on a laminate as a vapour retarder, because any damage to the laminate or improper installation may quickly lead to localised surface condensation problems, and a loss of energy efficiency.

The Sekisui Chemical Co (Japan) developed Physically Crosslinked technology in 1967. This technology creates the fine cell size of Sekisui’s Thermobreak® insulation and results in a lower thermal conductivity and greater insulating performance than any other closed cell flexible insulators.

With a thermal conductivity (k value) of 0.032 W/mK at 23 degrees Celsius, Thermobreak^® provides greater insulation than competitive products.  In addition, Thermobreak^® provides the lowest vapour permeability of any closed cell flexible insulation (2.3 x 10-15 kg/Pa.s.m), and the lowest water absorption (<0.1 percent v/v), significantly outperforming other materials, such as Elastomeric, Fibrous and Polystyrene, under all conditions over a 10year period.  For example, when insulating 6°C chilled water, at continuous ambient conditions of 27°C, 70%RH and an acceptable lifetime accumulation of 300g/m2 water, Thermobreak® has a continuous life of 17.6 years versus elastomeric (PVC nitrile) rubber 3.3 years.

Thermobreak^® Insulation is engineered to perform, reducing the long term running costs and carbon footprint for building owners.

For more information on Thermobreak please visit: https://thermobreak.com/