78446 EST CE71 EcoBuild 4pp-V3:EST 20/08/2010 09:32 Page 1

CE71

Insulation materials chart

Thermal properties and
environmental ratings
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Insulation materials chart 02 03 Insulation materials chart

Key: coloured cells indicate common uses. as embodied impacts have been evaluated. The comparison Thermal Values Group (March 1999) submitted to DG XII of the
1. Multifoil products work by reflecting radiated heat back into between materials is on the basis of similar thermal European Commission).
the internal space, and unlike other insulants are not resistance, rather than mass or volume. 5. The effect of low emissivity surfaces has been included in
assessed via a hot box test. For this reason their thermal 3. U-values calculated based on 9 solid brick wall, internally U-value calculations.

Domestic insulation materials conductivity is less crucial as a performance characteristic.

Total wall thickness to achieve U=0.25 W/m2K is 380mm and
includes 85mm supplementary PU (pentane) insulation.
2. The environmental ratings of different types of insulation
(with A+ being the best) have been taken from the latest
assessments in BREs Green Guide to Specification. Using Life
Cycle Assessment, the impacts associated with extraction,
manufacture, transport and disposal sometimes referred to
applied insulation (with battens and/or air gap where
appropriate) and 12.5mm plasterboard. Fixings and air
6. Monolithic insulant thicknesses quoted exclude external
render and internal plastered finish.
movement accounted for in calculated figures. All thicknesses 7. Flexible thermal linings are thin layers designed to be
rounded to nearest 5mm. applied directly to a solid wall, prior to finishes. A solid wall
4. The thermal conductivity ranges are the minimum and with 10mm flexible thermal lining will achieve a U-value of
maximum obtained from the thermal conductivity values approximately 1.5W/m2K.
declared by UK manufacturers (or suppliers) and those given
in the European Thermal Values publication. (Final report to the

The performance of insulation materials is Range of Thermal Conductivities4 (W/mK) Typical Applications
key to any low energy homes strategy,

Insulant thickness (mm)

Lower numbers indicate better thermal performance

Environmental Rating2

to achieve U-value =
whether designing, specifying and building Roofs Walls Floors

(BRE Green Guide)

0.25W/m2/k3
a new house, or refurbishing an existing

Suspended beam &

Insulation on pitch

External insulation
dwelling. Fabric insulation measures

Cavity (partial fill)

Internal insulation
Insulation Materials Chart

Ceiling insulation

Suspended timber
Cavity (full fill)
should always be considered before

Solid concrete
Timber frame

Steel frame
services and renewable energy generation. 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08

Flat roof

Panel

block
The domestic insulation market has
recently seen the development of
innovative high performance aerogel and Vacuum Insulated Panels - 30 0.008
Highest performance 0.013
vacuum panel insulants, as well as Aerogel - 50-55 0.014
multifoil products1. Alongside these Polyurethane with pentane up to 32kg/m3 A 105-115 0.027 0.03
developments more traditional products Polyurethane soy-based - 100-145 0.026 0.038
have continued to evolve, with grey EPS Polyurethane (PU) Foil-faced Polyurethane with pentane up to 32kg/m3 A 755 0.02
and soy-based Polyurethane offering
Polyurethane with CO2 - 130 0.035
higher thermal performance and greater 0.023
environmental sustainability respectively. In-situ applied Polyurethane (sprayed or injected) - 80-100 0.028
0.025
Monolithic insulants such as hemp-lime Polyisocyanurate up to 32kg/m3 A 95-105 0.028
0.022
or straw bale construction offer alternative Polyisocyanurate (PIR) Foil-faced polyisocyanurate up to 32kg/m3 A 80-855 0.023
options to those wishing to meet the In-situ applied polyisocyanurate (sprayed) - 80-100 0.023
0.028
heightened thermal requirements of Phenolic foam - 80-95 0.020
0.025
national building regulations. Phenolic foam (PF) 0.020
Foil-faced phenolic foam - 75-855 0.023

Expanded Polystyrene Expanded Polystyrene up to 30kg/m3 A+ 115-165 0.03 0.045

Insulation materials chart (EPS) Expanded Polystyrene with graphite (grey) - 115-120 0.03
0.032

Extruded Polystyrene Extruded Polystyrene with CO2 - 95-140 0.025 0.037

This chart details the thermal (XPS) Extruded Polystyrene with HFC 35kg/m3 E 110-120 0.029 0.031
conductivities, environmental ratings and
typical applications of insulation materials Glass wool [up to 48kg/m3] A+ 135-180 0.03 0.044
available in the UK. It is designed as an Glass wool [equal/greater than 48kg/m3] - 155 0.036
aid to specification. Note that the coloured 0.034
Stone wool [less than 160kg/m3] B to A+ 150-160 0.038
cells indicate only the most common uses Stone wool [160kg/m3] C 160-170 0.037 0.040
the fact a cell is blank does not Wool and fibre Sheeps wool [25kg/m3] A 150-215 0.034 0.054
necessarily mean that the type of
Cellulose fibre [dry blown 24kg/m3] A+ 150-190 0.035 0.046
insulation is not used for the application.
The properties of any selected product Hemp fibre - 165 0.039
should be checked prior to final Polyester fibre - 150-180 0.035 0.044
specification. When selecting an Wood fibre (WF) - 145-225 0.039 0.061
insulation material consideration should Hemp lime (monolithic) - 2606 0.067 Monolithic
be given to the materials fire, acoustic, Cotton - 165-170 0.039 0.04
moisture and environmental credentials
Cork [120kg/m3] A 155-200 0.041 0.055
along with the thermal performance of the
product within the construction context. Vermiculite - 235 0.039 0.06
Alternative Perlite (expanded) board - 190 0.051
Celular glass (CG) C-D 140-185 0.038 0.05
Flexible thermal linings - n/a7 0.04 0.063
Strawboard [420kg/m3] C 295 0.081
Straw bale (monolithic) A 175-2356 0.047 0.063 Monolithic
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CE71

Technical terms explained

Thermal A standardised measure of how easily heat flows through any specific material, which is independent of material
Conductivity thickness.
Also known as The lower the number, the better the thermal performance.
Lambda [], or Provides a quick way to easily compare to thermal performance of different insulants.
as k-value Units are Watts per metre Kelvin W/mK.
Example The thermal conductivity of Aerogel insulation is 0.013 W/mK.
The thermal conductivity of brick is 0.077 W/mK.
A measure of how much heat loss is reduced through a given thickness of any specific material.
Thermal The thermal resistance of a
l l is the thickness in metres and
Resistance material is calculated from: R = where
is the thermal conductivity in W/mK
To compare two insulants with different thicknesses and thermal conductivities, calculate the R-value for each.
Also known as
The higher the number, the better the thermal performance.
R-value
For materials in series, these thermal resistances (unlike conductivities) can simply be added to give a thermal
resistance for the whole.
Units are metres squared Kelvin per Watt (m2K/W).

Example The thermal resistance of 9mm Aerogel insulation is 0.0009/0.013 = 0.69m2K/W.

The thermal resistance of a 220mm solid brick wall is 0.022/0.077 = 0.29m2K/W.
The total thermal resistance of the two materials together is 0.69 + 0.29 = 0.98m2K/W.

A measure of how much heat is lost through a given thickness of any specific material, which includes conduction,
U-value convection and radiation.
The U-value of a material (or several materials in series, e.g. brick and insulation in a wall) is calculated by taking
the reciprocal of the R-value (i.e. 1/R-value), and adding convection and radiation heat losses.
Also known as
Repeating thermal bridging (e.g. wall ties) is also included.
thermal
In practice this is a complex calculation, and so using U-value calculation software (most SAP software packages,
transmittance
e.g. Build Desk, have a U-value calculator included within them) is recommended.
The lower the number, the better the thermal performance.
Units are Watts per metre squared Kelvin (W/m2K).

Example The thermal transmittance of 9mm of Aerogel insulation on a 220mm solid brick wall is 1/0.98 + convection and radiation
losses + repeating thermal bridging losses from fixings.
Using U-value calculation software, the thermal transmittance was calculated as 0.94 W/m2K.

Energy Saving Trust, 21 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BP Tel 0845 120 7799 Fax 0845 120 7789
bestpractice@est.org.uk energysavingtrust.org.uk/housing

CE71 Energy Saving Trust April 2004. Revised August 2010. E&OE
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