When deciding what insulation core of insulated panels to use in a construction project, it is important to evaluate the different options that are available considering the type of climate, temperatures of the place, as well as the specific use that will be given to the property to be developed. In this sense, the following questions commonly arise: what type of core (insulating foam) is most suitable for my building project? Is PIR insulation of my convenience or is PUR core foam my option to choose?

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This time we review the differences and advantages of the two most popular sandwich panel variants, in a comparison exercise between them (PUR vs. PIR)

PUR vs PIR

For many, it is known that the PUR (polyurethane) insulating panel is less expensive than that of PIR (polyisocyanurate) and the reason for this, as you may imagine, lies in the quality of the core material. Although nothing is absolute and will depend a lot on the ultimate purpose of the building, PIR insulation is commonly known as a better quality alternative than PUR.

R-Value

First of all, we must mention the R-value, which is a measure that is used to know the materials’ thermal resistance, that is, the more struggle the heat has to pass through the layers of the material (aka. thermal conductivity), the more insulation it can offer.

Although performance depends on uncontrollable external factors, such as climate, and on aspects of the material such as its thickness, in general, the R values ​​of PIR are higher than those of PUR.

U-Value

In line with the above, another important data is the U-value, which measures the thermal transmittance, defined as the amount of heat that can be transferred through a material measured in watts per square meter Kelvin (W/m2*K).

The U-value by definition is inversely proportional to the R-value, in other words, the lower it is, it indicates that there is lower transmittance, thus proving that the material has better insulating capacity. Again, under constant conditions, the PIR core has a lower U-value than the PUR core.

K-Value

The two above also correspond to the K value, which measures the thermal conductivity, that is, the material’s ability to conduct heat.

Similar to the U-value, the lower the number, the better the thermal performance of the sandwich panel core. Thus, polyisocyanurate foam tends to have substantially lower K values than polyurethane.

The purpose of the building

In general, it can be said that since the R, U, and K values of the PIR insulation panels are better than those of PUR, nevertheless, when evaluating which material to prefer, the use of the building should not be neglected.

For example, if insulated metal panels are to be used for food storage (cold), then resistance, transmittance, and thermal conductivity will be a highly important aspect of decision making and the PIR core foam is likely to be more suitable if a relatively thin coating is required. In contrast, if it were decided to use a PUR panel for this case, its thickness would have to increase in order for it to reach R, U, and K values similar to those of its PIR equivalent.

On the other hand, if instead of food storing, the building was to be used for manufacturing goods and if the case was that the heat had no great impact on human conditions or the performance of machinery, the use of a less thick PUR sandwich panel could be considered.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of PUR/PIR Roof Panel. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Budget

The above also leads us to take into account the economic aspect since, although the PUR panel tends to be cheaper for the builder and the developer, it could happen that for the client this translates into greater use of air conditioning or heating, a situation that inevitably means higher operating costs compared to a building covered with PIR insulated panels (of similar thickness).

Climate and Weather

The climate of the location where the panel will be installed is another topic to evaluate, since in humid and hot tropical weathers or in both northern and southern where extreme cold temperatures are reached, thermal insulation will take on more relevance than in locations where weather conditions tend to be more steady.

Each case is different

As a conclusion, due to the density of its structure, taking the environment, thickness, energy savings, and uses as a constant, the PIR insulation panels could be considered a better alternative in comparison to those of PUR core.

However, paradoxically, we cannot recommend an absolute decision, since for each project a technical evaluation has to be carried out in order to declare what is best for a particular construction project in economic, operational, environmental, human, and safety terms.

How to Get the Most of Insulation Advantages | FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT INSULATED METAL PANELS

In this article, we’ll shed light on how to get the most out of the insulation advantages. Therefore, here you can find a guideline to the frequently asked questing regarding insulated metal panels.

1. INSULATED METAL PANELS APPLICATIONS

EXTERNAL CLADDINGS

Insulated sandwich panels are used for single and occasionally multi-story buildings. Certainly, polyurethane is the most common core insulation for this application. Furthermore, sandwich panels that you use externally have to withstand wind-loads and also be weather-tight.

INSULATED INTERNAL ENVELOPES AND PARTITIONS

Insulated sandwich panels are used typically in food factories, cold stores, pharmaceutical industries, other temperature-controlled envelopes, and high-tech clean rooms. Certainly, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is the most common core insulation for these applications.

FIRE RESISTING COMPARTMENT WALLS

You can use very successfully some sandwich panel systems in this application. Certainly, high-density Rock Wool mineral fiber we commonly use for this application as it can easily provide panels with 30 minutes and up to 240 minutes of fire resistance. Hence it is important to ensure that the panel system provides adequate insulation to ensure that combustible materials in direct contact with the unexposed panel side will not ignite. (In addition, that is the purpose of the insulation required in the fire resistance test).

Our roof and wall insulated panels are suitable for almost any type of construction, such as:

1. Industrial and commercial warehouses;
2. Agricultural buildings;
3. Office buildings;
4. Aviation hangars;
5. Food factories;
6. Modular housing;
7. Temporary hospital units;
8. Cold storages.

2. WHICH INSULANTS ARE USED IN INSULATED SANDWICH PANELS?

• Polyurethane (PUR)
• Polyisocyanurate (PIR)
• LPCB approved Polyisocyanurate (PIR+) (certainly better quality and fire performance than the standard PIR)
• Rock Wool (RW)
• Glass Wool (GW)

3. WORKING TEMPERATURES OF PUR, PIR, AND ROCKWOOL INSULATED METAL PANELS

The temperature resistance properties of an insulated sandwich panel under elevated temperatures are very important in practice. Furthermore, permanent temperature hikes can lead to dimensional changes, loss of shape and strength, thermal decomposition, etc.

Therefore, in certain applications, we suggest paying attention to these working temperature limits of the insulated metal panel.

Information about this property reports the lower and upper-temperature application limits in ° C and °F. It states to what temperature a material – under continuous load – can usually be loaded without destruction or change occurring. The duration of the action of heat plays an important role in insulating materials that permanently heat up, for example, on the roof under sunlight. The temperature application limit makes no statement about the behavior of the material in case of fire.

TEMPERATURE APPLICATION LIMITS:

• PUR and PIR sandwich panels from -40°C to 80 °C (from -40°F to 176°F);
• Rock Wool sandwich panels from -20°C to 100 °C (from -4°F to 212°F).

Although these temperature limits may appear conservative, we prefer to use this approach as a general guideline. We encourage you to ask us for further info on your specific case.

4. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THERMAL INSULATION?

Thermal insulation reduces or prevents temperature changes from one ambient to another. In general, materials are considered “insulants” when their thermal conductivity value is less than 0,065 W/mK.

5. WHAT IS R-VALUE?

R-Value is the rating system used to grade insulation products or a material’s insulating properties. The “R” stands for “resistance” and refers to the resistance a material has to heat flow or temperature conduction. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness. The R-value depends on the type of insulation, its thickness, and its density.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website rockwool sandwich panel.

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Alberto Adriano

✓ Entrepreneur in the field of International Commerce of Industrial Thermal Insulation ✓ Sales Director at Globe Panels Ltd ✓ 12 years of experience in Sandwich Panels ✓ Exporting to Latin America since .