Evaluation of the features and characteristics of Penoflex insulation

Penoflex heat insulator is a lightweight material with a long service life. Distinctive features of the insulation product are strength and ease of self-assembly. You can cut the thermal insulator using an ordinary knife. Thanks to its technical characteristics, this insulation has gained immense popularity in the post-Soviet space.

Penoplex insulation is a new generation of thermal insulation products. It can be used for absolutely any type and variety of construction. Used for interior and exterior finishing works.

Penoplex insulation

Penoflex production technology includes mixing polystyrene granules, foaming agent and freon (penoplex base) in an extruder. This whole process occurs under the influence of enormous temperature and pressure. Afterwards, the air is replaced by freon, therefore, the base of the insulation product is environmentally friendly and does not cause any harm to the human body.

Advantages and disadvantages

Penoplex
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Thanks to the production technology described above, the insulation acquires a high level of density and a low water absorption rate. This is possible due to the porous structure. These parameters make it possible to carry out thermal insulation indoors and outdoors on any surface.

Let's look at the advantages of this thermal insulation material:

• There is no hygroscopicity. A synthetic product simply cannot absorb moisture. This allows penoplex to be stored in open warehouses. You can even insulate damp and damp surfaces that are regularly subject to waterlogging.
• The product has a high level of resistance to temperature changes and other climate factors.
• The insulation is not afraid of any microorganisms, mold, or mildew.
• As noted above, the material is completely environmentally friendly. Does not have any toxicity.

There are also some disadvantages:

• Although penoplex has a high level of resistance to chemical influences and can withstand bitumen mixtures, lime, and so on, exposure to acetone and other organic substances can make polystyrene foam an unusable material.
• The surface requires additional vapor barrier before using penoflex. It has vapor permeability.

The thermal conductivity of penoplex is 0.028 W/m×K.

Why is it necessary to do a vapor barrier when insulating with polystyrene foam?

Since the air humidity inside the building is higher than outside, steam moves from an area where there is more of it (high pressure) to an area where there is less of it (low pressure). When it passes through a wall or insulation, along its path it can hit the dew point (the point at which the temperature of the wall corresponds to the value at which steam begins to condense, approximately 13-17 ° C).

When condensation occurs a short distance from the outer surface, this is normal. But when the dew point moves inside the structure, the wall freezes, and moisture gradually permeates the structure until it reaches the inner surface. This way the wall gets wet.

To avoid this, you must:

• move the dew point outward of the wall. This can be achieved by insulating the walls from the outside, in which case a vapor barrier will not be needed; to prevent moisture from penetrating inside the structure when the dew point is closer to the inner surface, a vapor barrier is installed.

Mounting technology

Insulation installation diagram
Installation of this thermal insulation product includes fastening using construction adhesive to a surface that must be flat and dry. Therefore, before starting the procedure, it is necessary to prepare the surface, that is, level it. After securing the installation of insulating boards, protection must be carried out. Decorative cladding products are used as a protective layer. To strengthen the adhesive fastening, you need to use umbrella dowel nails. Typically, this technology for installing insulation boards is used for walls or ceiling surfaces.

If you must insulate the floor, there are other recommendations. First you need to build up the subfloor. This can be done using DSP and GVL boards. A waterproofing layer is laid on the subfloor. Then the joints of the rolled insulation are overlapped using construction tape. This is done so that the concrete solution cannot seep into the wall product. There should be thermal insulation gaps between the walls and the subfloor; upon completion of installation, they are foamed with polyurethane foam.

Important! Winter grades of polyurethane foam contain substances that contain toluene. This substance is destructive to polystyrene foam.

During the procedure for thermal insulation of the wall surface, it is necessary to fill the gaps that are located between the penoflex and the walls of the structure using construction foam. The top is protected using a heat-reflecting foil film. It is the film that will be firmly held on the polyurethane glue. The joints of the film must be glued using metallized tape. Thanks to this, you will be able to achieve the performance of a thermos.

Features of using insulation

A material based on polyethylene foam with a reflective layer can become independent thermal insulation for a balcony or loggia, as well as an attic intended for living in the summer and off-season.

It must be remembered that foamed polyethylene alone is not enough to ensure complete insulation, so it is often combined with mineral wool as a vapor barrier and protection from external moisture and weathering. When used in combination with extruded polystyrene foam, such materials make it possible to reduce the layer of basic insulation by approximately 1.2 - 1.5 times, which significantly reduces the cost of protecting the structure from heat loss.

Types of penoflex

There are 5 types of thermal insulation material Penoplex. Types of Penoplex:

• "Foundation-35". This product does not contain fire retardant additives. The scope of application of this variety is basements, basements, and foundations of buildings. A similar material is Penoplex GEO.
• "Wall-31". The area of ​​use of that brand is the external surfaces of basement walls, basements, and roofs that have a pitched structure.
• “Roof-35” is a brand that is suitable for insulating roofs of absolutely any design. Thanks to the special chamfer on the edges, precise connections can be made without any problems.
• Penoplex brand "Comfort-31". Area of ​​use: walls, basements, roofs that have a pitched structure.

There is another brand - “Penoplex-45”. It is used in places where it will be subject to increased mechanical stress. Such places can be asphalt pavement, industrial facilities, and so on.

Installation of thermal insulation based on polyethylene foam

Due to their high flexibility, Penoflex insulating materials can be attached to a surface of any level. This insulation does not require careful preparation with leveling the walls, floor and ceiling. With a thickness of 10 mm, the insulation can hide some defects in the treated surface.

During installation, the sheets of material are attached end-to-end, the seam must be treated with sealant and covered with waterproofing tape. Overlapping fixation can lead to the formation of condensation at the joints, which promotes the development of mold and various microorganisms.

Taking into account the low permeability of the insulation, when attaching it, it is best to make a lathing that creates a ventilation gap of 20 mm between the insulation and the base, as well as the finishing material.

Technical characteristics and dimensions

Let's take a look at the table below:

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Let's consider the sheet sizes of each individual brand:

• "Foundation-35". The width is 60 centimeters, length 1200 millimeters, thickness - from 20 to 100 millimeters.
• "Wall-31C". The length and thickness of this brand are similar to the previous one.
• "Roof-35". The dimensions are consistent with the considered brands of insulation products.
• "Comfort-31". The indicators converge.
• "Penoplex-45". The brand differs from others in its dimensions. The length is 2400 millimeters, and the thickness varies from 40 to 100 millimeters.

The considered data is saved even if the temperature and humidity values ​​change. The thermal conductivity of penoflex is lower when compared with ordinary polystyrene foam or mineral wool, which speaks in favor of this thermal insulation product. But the price is not much different.

Let's look at what 20 millimeters of a Penoplex layer corresponds to:

• This value corresponds to 30 millimeters of ordinary foam.
• Only 38 millimeters of mineral wool will bring the same benefit.
• A thin layer of penoflex is equivalent to 200 millimeters of wood.
• You will get the same result when applying a layer of cellular concrete, the thickness of which will be 270 millimeters.
• 20 millimeters of Penoplex equals 370 millimeters of brickwork.

What does 20 millimeters of Penoplex layer correspond to?
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Having considered all the properties of penoplex as a thermal insulation material, one can discover only a significant disadvantage - this is the flammability indicator. This does not allow the thermal insulation product to become ideal.

Only technoflex (an analogue of penoflex), which has a different manufacturing technology, is superior to penoflex. Technoflex contains graphite nanoparticles. Thanks to this content, technoflex has a much lower thermal conductivity value, and the strength indicator, on the contrary, is greater.

If you use penoflex for the insulation procedure, then it is recommended to use pinotex as an addition, which will prevent moisture and vapor. It will protect the surface from mold and mildew. This also increases the level of fire resistance. You can buy Pinotex in the form of a primer or paint.

Basic parameters of materials

As with other thermal insulation composites used to protect buildings from internal heat emission, Penoflex polyethylene foam has a number of requirements. The main technical characteristics of this material include:

• almost zero permeability for water vapor at the level of 0.0015 mg/m*h*Pa;
• thermal conductivity no more than 0.045 W/mK;
• high elasticity under mechanical stress;
• density from 35 to 65 kg/m3;
• low volumetric water absorption, not exceeding 0.8%.

Due to its complex spatial structure, insulation with a reflective layer does not support combustion.

When polyethylene foam is heated, carbon dioxide trapped in the pores is released, which helps extinguish open flames. That is why such thermal insulation is well suited for wooden buildings.

Price

In construction stores, this insulation product is sold in packages. How many pieces does the package contain? Each individual package contains 4-20 pieces. The number of pieces in one package depends on the thickness of the heat insulator. The weight of one package is usually 15 kilograms.

According to information provided by online stores, the wholesale price per cubic meter (10 m3) is:

• Comfort – about 4000 rubles;
• roofing – 4300-4400 rubles;
• base of the building (foundation) – 4200-4300 rubles;
• penoplex - 5500 rubles.

So, we can assume that Penoplex is one of the materials that is used for insulation. The service life is almost 50 years. The structure obtained as a result of manufacturing helped to make a product with low mass and low thermal conductivity. You can carry out insulation using thin layers of the product. But be aware of the risk of fire and solve this problem in advance.

conclusions

So, we have studied in detail the properties, characteristics, manufacturing nuances and cost of two materials for insulating technoplex or penoplex, which is better, it is definitely difficult to say. The situation is approximately the same when answering the question - what is better than penoplex or mineral wool.

The conclusion is that these materials deserve the most attention, and reviews of their effectiveness are more than fair. The insulation materials are almost identical, the difference in parameters is minimal. In some places one material is better, in others it is superior to another insulation.

Another question: are you ready to give that kind of money to insulate your own home? If yes, then you are doing absolutely right. The material will last a long time, reliably and efficiently. As for which insulation material to choose, this is a purely individual question.

It’s worth taking a closer look at the penofol material. Today penofol is used quite actively. At the same time, penofol has weighty arguments in its favor.

A little history about Penoplex insulation

A brief history of the emergence of extruded polystyrene foam (the official name of penoplex) is as follows:

• 1941 _ Like many other useful things, the material was originally developed for the needs of the army (in this case, the US Navy). This year, The Dow Chemical company received a patent for a new development, and already in 1942 it established large-scale supplies. The moisture-resistant material with excellent heat-insulating properties was used in the production of boats and life rafts.
• 1952 _ After the war, the Americans continued to use penoplex, its use expanded significantly, first in the refrigeration industry, and then in construction.
• 1963 _ Extruded polystyrene foam has spread throughout Europe and has since occupied a stable niche in the insulation market.
• 1998 _ Extruded polystyrene foam began to be produced in Russia (in the Leningrad region) under the Penoplex trademark and was adequately appreciated by builders.

Extruded polystyrene foam made in Europe