A new range of products from IFS Chemicals Ltd fills a much needed gap in the performance of polyurethane insulation products. Since the demise of CFCs and HCFCs, the insulation (lambda) value of polyurethane foams has significantly increased. During the days of CFCs, typical values were 0.016 W/mK. With the advent of HCFCs, the best achievable rose to 0.019 W/mK. Today, many foams with a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) of "less than 5" have lambda values of 0.024 W/mK. This has happened at a time when there are increasing requirements to monitor and publish energy usage figures associated with running the devices. Domestic and commercial refrigerators, as well as water heaters, have seen a recent need to reduce energy consumption.
The new range of foams from IFS have a GWP of "less than 1", are derived from non-flammable resins, are produced from renewable oils and exhibit a foam lambda value of 0.020 W/mK. Sold under the tradename Envirofoam Sustain, and with thermal conductivity values up to 20% lower than many current insulation foams, the new generation products have been fully evaluated in actual running tests. The results have been warmly welcomed by those companies manufacturing building panels, commercial refrigerators, supermarket display cabinets and water storage cylinders. |
