The story behind sustainable insulation Sustainability aims to strike a balance between economic and social development and environmental protection. Insulation is a key tool to make buildings sustainable. But what about their embodied impacts?
CONSUMER CONFUSION A lot of claims are being made with regards to how ‘green’ insulation products are. Consumers deserve a clear objective, harmonised assessment.
Insulation is not a stand-alone product, like for example a washing machine. Insulation is used in buildings/building components in combination with other materials. PU board
Wood beams
bricks
Fixing devices
Hence, we have to look at end-use applications to make informed environmental choices PU INSULATION IS LIGHT AND REQUIRES LESS STRUCTURAL SUPPORT, THUS SAVING RESOURCES
http://www.pu-europe.eu
PU insulation is thinner and saves valuable space
when taking all aspects into account, pu insulation shows an excellent environmental performance Different materials have different thermal insulation capacities, densities and installation requirements. PU may have a higher impact at product level but reduces ancillary material use and has a similar impact as natural insulants when assessed at the building (element) level.
Abiotic depletion fuel
Acidification potential
3,00E+03
3,00E+01
2,50E+02
2,50E+03
2,50E+01
2,00E+02
2,00E+03
2,00E+01
1,50E+02 1,00E+02 5,00E+01
kg, SO2 eq
3,00E+02 MJ, net cal
kg, CO2 eq
Global warming potential
1,50E+03 1,00E+03 5,00E+01
0,00E+00 e lulos
Cel
er d fib
Woo
re
u Poly
1,00E+01 5,00E+02
0,00E+00 e than
1,50E+01
e lulos
Cel
er d fib
Woo
0,00E+00 u Poly
re
e than
ose
l Cellu
d Woo
fiber
ne
retha
u Poly
Operational energy use Wall
Environmental impacts of a brick wall element (1m2) with wood cladding outer leaf, U=0.24 W/m2K*
Insulation material
*Vito for the Federal Public Service of Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment (Belgium): Final LCA background report: Task 2 – Life cycle assessment of thermal insulation materials for walls in the Belgian building context (N° DG5/PP/DDL/11032)
HOW TO INFORM professionals?
AND CONSUMERS?
BEYOND FACTORY GATES
Multi-indicator building ratings based on EPDs allow for informed choices for LCA experts and architects.
Unfortunately, there is no satisfactory communication format today. This does however not justify claims that do not reflect real performance.
When looking for the sustainability of insulation, one has to look beyond the factory gates.
http://www.pu-europe.eu
How the product performs in the built environment, how much product is needed to achieve comparable energy savings and what other savings can be achieved by saving space and weight should all be taken into account.