Last week we talked about polyurethane and the present that is in our lives. Polyurethane is an extremely versatile material with excellent properties such as strength, durability and comfort.
However, its most outstanding property is surely the thermal insulation it provides to buildings.
Thermal insulation of polyurethane
Isolation is one of the most important aspects when designing a building. Choosing a material with a high thermal performance for its isolation offers many advantages:
- It helps to maintain a comfortable interior temperature , and therefore to facilitate a comfortable living and working environment for the people who use the building. It does this by forming a barrier that stops the flow of heat through the envelope of the building, giving us better control of the interior temperature regardless of the temperature outside.
- It helps reduce energy consumption and its costs . Isolation is one of the cheapest ways
- and easy to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. By requiring less energy to heat or cool the building, there will be less fuel consumption and economic savings for the user.
- Help in the fight against climate change . The energy used in buildings, especially for heating, creates large amounts of carbon dioxide, a gas that increases global warming and harms the environment. By improving the energy efficiency of buildings and reducing energy demand, there are also fewer emissions of this gas.
- It helps to ensure the energy supply. The energy sources of fossil fuels are finite. If we manage to reduce the demand, we will guarantee the energy supply for a longer time.
Among the variety of insulating materials available in the market, polyurethane is the one that has a lower thermal conductivity. This means that isolating buildings with optimal levels of polyurethane (the appropriate thicknesses) also provides an economic benefit over the use of other materials.
Acoustic insulation of polyurethane
Although in this article we focus on the advantages of polyurethane as a thermal insulator, it is also worth mentioning the function of acoustic insulation offered by polyurethane.
It acoustically insulates the buildings, helping to dampen external noises (those that surround the building) and internal noises (neighbors, furniture, etc.) and ensuring greater comfort for users.
PU Europe has prepared the following document on the benefits of polyurethane where you can find more information on the subject. Download it now: