Transparency in Thermal Performance
Christopher Griffin
Format: MP3 Audio file download

National interest in energy conservation and efficiency is skyrocketing – and national policies and initiatives are following right behind. In response, designers, roofing contractors and property owners are finding innovative ways to improve the energy performance and efficiency of their building projects. Many find that insulation offers a critically important way to make any building — whether residential or commercial – more energy efficient. A crucial factor when choosing insulation is the material's R-value, which measures the insulation's resistance to heat flow. Architects, specifiers, building owners and roofing contractors expect R-values to accurately reflect the long-term thermal resistance (LTTR) of the insulation. To meet these expectations, polyiso insulation manufacturers have actively participated in and sponsored research projects to develop consensus laboratory methods to determine the LTTR of permeably-faced plastic insulating foams typically used as roof insulation. Over the last decade, these methods have evolved into the most recent update to the ASTM C1289 Standard Specification for Faced Rigid Cellular Polyisocyanurate Thermal Insulation Board (ASTM C1289). The update features important improvements regarding the prediction of LTTR value for a variety of polyiso insulation boards. In order to provide a comprehensive approach to predicting long-term R-value throughout North America, the updated ASTM C1289 standard now incorporates two test methods, ASTM C1303-11 and CAN/ULC-S770-09, which offer a similar approach to predicting the long-term thermal performance for foam insulation materials that exhibit air and blowing agent diffusion or aging over time. Both test methods employ a technique called "slicing and scaling" to accelerate this aging process and provide an accurate and consistent prediction of product R-value after 5 years, which is equivalent to a time-weighted thermal design R-value for 15 years. The update to ASTM C1289-11 in no way impacts polyiso's physical properties.

The PIMA QualityMarkCM program, the only third-party program for the certification of the thermal value of polyiso insulation, will begin reporting LTTR values in accordance with ASTM C1289-11 on January 1, 2014.

Learning Objectives:

• Reiterate the importance of accurate R-value measurement and the use of long-term thermal resistance values
• Explain the ASTM C1289 standard and its evolution
• Clarify the value of certification programs and use PIMA's QualityMarkCM program as an example

Target Audience:

• Commercial Contractor
• Residential Contractor
• Metal Contractor
• Architect/Designer/Consultant
• Manufacturer-Supplier
• Sales & Estimating
• Owner/CEO/General Manager
• Building Owner/Facility Manager