The environmental impact of a building material arises in two places: at the moment it is made, and over the years it is used. In a heated or cooled building, the second item passes the first before long. The most important environmental decision about a panel is therefore not the name of the material but the thickness of the section.
Operating energy is the larger side of the balance
Heat leaving the envelope turns into fuel every year, and fuel into emissions. The environmental cost of going up one step in insulation thickness is paid once, and the gain is taken over the life of the building.
Seeing that difference does not need an estimate. The heat loss and savings calculator gives the annual difference between two sections in kWh, and its money value with your own fuel price.
What does the choice of core change?
| Core | Thermal conductivity | Section for the same insulation |
|---|---|---|
| PUR, PIR | 0.022 W/mK | Thinnest |
| Rock wool, hybrid | 0.045 W/mK | Roughly twice |
| EPS | 0.038 W/mK | More than twice |
A thinner section means less material, less transport volume and less weight. Rock wool, on the other hand, brings the A2-s1-d0 fire class and is mineral based. The decision is not made on a single axis; the regulation, the insulation target and the building type are weighed together.
The steel faces are recyclable
The outer and inner faces of the panel are steel, and steel enters the recycling chain at the end of its life. That the envelope can be dismantled is an advantage too: a screwed system, unlike a cast one, can be taken apart and separated.
Transport is a bigger item than it looks
A panel is light but bulky, and part of its environmental cost arises on the road. As the square metres loaded per vehicle rise, the number of trips falls.
How many vehicles are needed is known before the order: the loading quantities calculator gives the vehicle count and the layout by product and thickness. A delivery whose layout is planned correctly makes one trip fewer.
Long life is the quietest environmental gain
Material not replaced is material not produced. Three things set the life of an envelope: choosing a coating class suited to the environment, closing the joints so they seal, and carrying out the annual maintenance.
Choosing PVDF or plastisol instead of polyester on the coast and in aggressive atmospheres raises the initial cost and lengthens the interval between repainting. The installation and maintenance notes are in the Library section.
Roofs carrying a solar plant
An envelope producing its own energy also enters the environmental balance. If a solar plant is planned on the roof, the panel and the mounting system are chosen accordingly; the weight of the arrays and their fixing points are included in the structural calculation. The subject is covered separately on the solar roof panel page.
The system side
The environmental management system of the production site is certified to ISO 14001; the certificate is in the Library section. A system certificate shows that not a single product but the order producing it has been audited.