Innovation in the panel sector is not just a new product name. If a problem is solved in the section, there is innovation; if not, the only new thing is the cover of the catalogue. The real examples of recent years all came from a problem in the field.
Hybrid cores: a panel that holds a screw without losing its fire class
A rock wool core gives the A2-s1-d0 fire class, but its compression behaviour at the screw is not as good as polyurethane. The hybrid panel stops at that point: the core is rock wool based, with polyurethane strips at the edges.
The result is a section that holds on both sides. The fire class stays A2-s1-d0, the screw seat holds tight and the panel becomes somewhat lighter. The thermal conductivity is that of rock wool, 0.045 W/mK.
Membrane laminated roofs: water at a low pitch
On low-pitch roofs the problem is not the insulation of the panel but that water stays longer on the surface. In the TRIPAN panel the outer sheet is PVC laminated; the surface behaves differently from conventional painted steel and does not deform.
The profile has five ribs, the rib height is 37 mm, and the panel is produced in one piece up to 15.5 metres. The products are on the roof panels page.
Solar compatible profiles: the roof's second job
If a solar plant is to be installed on the roof, the envelope takes on a load beyond its own and holes are made in its surface. The solar compatible panel takes that second job into account from the start: a five-rib profile, a 37 mm rib height and a surface suited to the mounting system.
The subject is covered separately on the solar roof panel page.
Perforated acoustic sheets: absorbing sound, not insulating it
In a production hall the problem is usually not the sound going out but the reverberation building up inside. In an acoustic panel the inner sheet is perforated and the porous core absorbs the sound; the panel does not insulate against sound, it changes the acoustics of the space.
These are two different problems, and confusing them means buying the wrong product. The acoustic products are on the acoustic panels page.
The calculation itself became a product
The most visible side of innovation in recent years is not in the product but in where the decision is made. Thickness and core used to be questions for the supplier; today they are calculated at the design table.
- U-value calculator: the thermal transmittance of the section
- Heat loss and savings calculator: the annual difference and the payback period
- Panel area calculator: quantities surface by surface
- Panel weight calculator: the envelope load for the structure
- Loading quantities: vehicle count and layout
The method of each calculation is written on its own page. What makes a result open to discussion is that the calculation is not closed.
The measure of innovation
Whether an innovation is real is settled by one question: which problem in the field does it remove. If the answer is about appearance, there is no innovation. If the answer is "it holds a screw without losing class A2", there is.