Environmental Product Declaration for Blowing Wool, Mineral Wool and Wood Wool products.
Find your EPD
Our residential expert Benoit Thiry discusses the rise and rise of external insulation systems and why they are proving to be so popular.
Offering a great combination of fire safety, acoustic comfort, money-saving energy efficiency as well as stunning good looks, it is easy to see why external wall insulation systems are growing in popularity across homes in Europe.
To keep up with surging demand Knauf Insulation has stepped up production of Rock Mineral Wool products for these systems at its new plant in Illange in France.
Benoît Thiry, the company’s Group Market Manager Residential, says: “Across many European countries external insulation systems have always played an important role in energy saving and home comfort.
“Now we are seeing growing demand for the systems as issues such as fire safety and well-being become increasingly important to homeowners.”
The first critical consideration of any homeowner is the issue of fire. Knauf Insulation’s external products with Rock Mineral Wool are non-combustible. This means there is no risk of fire spreading and they achieve the highest possible Euroclass A1 Reaction to Fire Classification offering peace of mind to homeowners.
Just as modern windows offer more effective soundproofing than ever before, Knauf Insulation’s Rock Mineral Wool can provide the latest cutting-edge sound solutions for base walls. Thanks to the noise-blocking fibre structure of Rock Mineral Wool, external sound levels can be reduced by up to 10 dB which is perceived by the human ear as cutting noise in half. This means disturbing traffic noise or annoying construction works outside a home are reduced to an indistinguishable hum.
External insulation systems are highly effective at locking warmth inside homes. Rather than allowing heat to permeate walls and vanish into cold exteriors, Rock Mineral Wool provides a warm wrap-around barrier that contributes to thermal mass — like an extra layer of clothing — to keep the heat where it belongs, inside. And that is great news for those in the house who will appreciate the resulting higher temperature of their internal walls and resulting higher level of thermal comfort.
Rock Mineral Wool also offers an exceptional barrier against external heat. During hot months, the insulation systems using the Mineral Wool effectively deflect heat such as direct sunlight from the walls of a home ensuring the interior remains cool and comfortable.
Walls can be responsible for up to 35% of heat losses in an uninsulated house. An external insulation system with Rock Mineral Wool makes a significant contribution to reducing these losses which means less energy is needed to heat a home, saving money.
Using less energy to heat or cool a home thanks to a weathertight external wall system reduces the carbon footprint of the building.
Installing an external insulation system with robust Rock Mineral Wool also offers the advantage of providing effective weatherproof protection for existing walls — increasing their life — as well as dramatically improving the appearance of the building. Knauf Insulation products are compatible with a wide range of aesthetically attractive finishes offered by main system holders
The application of external insulation avoids the need to carry out any internal work which ensures the maximum amount of living space is maintained internally.
Knauf Insulation external wall insulation with Rock Mineral Wool allows the entire system to ‘breathe’ which means that there is no risk of condensation inside the insulation or behind it. This is particularly important in old houses where humidity can creep up brick walls from the ground. Unlike other insulation products, Rock Mineral Wool does not block the path of any humidity forcing it to spread.
The installation of external wall insulation system is a straightforward process that is carried out quickly and efficiently. There is no disruption to those living inside the building.
Click here to learn more about the advantages of Knauf Insulation Rock Mineral Wool products for external wall insulation systems.
Improving insulation of every existing residential building in the European Union would significantly contribute to the energy security of the bloc and to achieving the EU’s 2050 net zero ambitions by cutting energy demand for space heating in buildings by 44% compared to 2020, according to a new report.
18.01.2023
We are excited to announce the launch of our 2022 Annual Review ‘Insulation Matters’.
29.11.2022
Knauf Insulation’s fire expert explains why evacuation strategies and infrastructure are at the heart of shopping centre fire safety.
10.11.2022
