The Freudenberg Politex Group

Thermal and acoustic insulation

rot-proof
resistant to mould, mildew, bacteria and rodents
anti-allergenic
100% recyclable
environmental friendly
lightweight

Thermal and acoustic insulation

METHOD FOR LAYING PANELS
Lay the panels onto the surface of the wall or partition to be insulated, and at the same time complete the layer structure
of the wall, putting the counter-boarding in place using traditional building techniques.
Cut off the excess material with a cutter or scissors.

METHOD FOR LAYING ROLLS

Rolls are recommended on plasterboard walls
or floors for the sound and thermal insulation of
floor slabs in habitable and non-habitable lofts.
In the first instance, the product is unrolled and
fixed to the upper part of the plasterboard wall.
In the second instance, material is simply
laid in contact with the floor; however
protective floor boards will need to be laid
if the area is to be used for living or storage
accommodation.

SCHEME 1

hable

LAYING ECOZERO CORRECTLY

must be laid correctly to ensure continuity, in order to obtain the best results in terms of thermal
insulation.
Breathable
For wall panels we suggest the use of staggered joints, to improve the compactness of the insulating layer.

Thermal insulation

The Freudenberg Politex Group

INTRODUCTION
Environmental sustainability is very much an issue of our times.
At present, we mainly exploit non-renewable energy sources (oil, coal, natural gas etc.) which, given the growing
population in the World and increase in demand from developing countries, will run out one day.
Buildings, in particular those realized with elderly construction technologies, use a great deal of energy.
In most cases, they do not have efficient thermal insulation, resulting in a consistent dispersion from both heating and
air conditioning systems.
Reducing consumption, improving efficiency and thermal insulation within houses and saving energy have all
become a must, for a cleaner and more sustainable world.

LEGISLATION
Energy saving laws encompass a fairly complex legal framework, involving world meetings, EU directives, and
national laws and decrees.
During the first World Climate Conference, which took place in 1979, countries realised the need to take
firm action over the causes of climate change (greenhouse effect, global warming, etc.).
This paved the way for the Conference of the Parties (COP-3) in 1997 and subsequent approval of the
Kyoto Protocol.
Industrialised countries agreed to self-regulation in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% within 2012,
with economic sanctions to be introduced for non-compliant countries.
The European Community, with Directive 2002/91/EC EDPB (Energy Performance of Buildings), outlines
the need to increase the energy efficiency of buildings whilst at the same time reducing energy consumption: this is
possible by stipulating a level of energy consumption for each household expressed in m2 of useful residential surface
in kWatt h/m2 year.
All EC Member States must comply with these provisions within January 2006.

Breathable

reathable

Applications characteristics
THERMAL INSULATION IN BUILDINGS
Thermal insulation means preventing heat entering a house in summer, and preventing heat loss from the house in
winter.
The building media that is able to act as a barrier against heat is the insulating layer.
The physical parameter which expresses the capacity of a material to convey heat is thermal conductivity ( ).
In general, a lower corresponds to a higher thermal insulating performance of the material, with the same thickness
and density values.
The ratio between thickness and determines the thermal resistance (R).
For example, a vertical wall consisting of two 12+10 cm cavity walls, with insulating layer + air (9 cm) and plaster
finish on the outer wall surfaces has a total R value equal to 2,214 m2/KW, given by the sum of the R values of the
different layers.
At this point we can assess the thermal benefit due to the presence of the insulating material by calculating the thermal
transmittance (U= 1/R), that is the quantity of dispersed heat per m2 of the wrapping.
We can define an ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING a structure with a
thermal transmittance U = 0.4 W / m2 K.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES - WALLS

For the thermal insulation of a wall a traditional method is generally used, typical of construction techniques for
standard materials for outer walls. Insulating material is laid in the cavity between the two brick walls of different
thicknesses. Fig. 1 and 2.
In the case of load bearing walls or honeycomb brick blocks, the insulating material is laid on the inside of the
boarding and then finished with a plasterboard counter-wall. Fig.3.

2
4

3
1,5

12

Fig. 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Plaster
Bricks
Render
Hollow bricks
Breathable
Plaster

3
8

1,5 cm

1,5

Breathable

12

Fig. 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Plaster
Bricks
Render
Bricks
Plaster

12

1,5 cm

Applications characteristics
Breathable

The Freudenberg Politex Group

Fig. 3
1. Plaster
2. Honeycomb blocks or reinforced concrete
3.
4. Plasterboard

1,5

25

1,25 cm

Breathable

Breathable
TRADITIONAL construction
system

40 mm
25 Kg/m3

Rtot1

U1

40 mm
35 Kg/m3

Rtot2

U2

= 0,040

R=1

1,665

0,60

= 0,038

R = 1,052

1,717

0,58

= 0,040

R=1

2,112

0,47

= 0,038

R = 1,052

2,164

0,46

= 0,040

R=1

1,705

0,58

= 0,038

R = 1,052

1,757

0,56

Brick 12+8

0,665

Brick 12+12

1,112

Honeycomb blocks 25

0,705

Breathable

In order to improve the thermal performance of the different perimeter construction systems, and to obtain a U = 0.4
W/m2K, the R value must increase (U = 1/R) and as a consequence the thickness of the insulating material increases
(R = sp/ ). For a product such as
60 mm 30 kg/m3 with = 0,039:

Breathable

TRADITIONAL construction system

60 mm
30 Kg/m3

R
Brick 12+8

0,665

Brick 12+12 Breathable

1,112
Honeycomb blocks 25

0,705

= 0,039

R = 1,538

Rtot

Performance
increase

2,203

0,45

31%

2,650

0,37

25%

2,243

0,44

30%

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES - ROOFS

Breathable

Roofs require a number of measures to create an efficient roofing system.

, when laid on the flooring surface and duly protected by a vapour control layer, protects the house from
thermal dispersion.
To calculate the correct version of
, it is necessary to determine the thermal transmission coefficient (k) which
proportionally links the thermal flow passing through the same material and the temperature difference, expressed as:

k=q/ T
The following scheme may assist the designer during the preliminary phase to calculate the required minimum thickness of
in relation to objectives established for specific environmental conditions.
Details for calculating the k coefficient (thermal transmission) and the suggested insulating material
thickness:





8S



SV



8M

RHS





X[I

IR



RGI

FI



JIVI





HMJ



8M8
I!

6IPEXMZILYQMHMX]9V



YXH
SSV

    








8M'





























O!/GEPQL'





!/GEPQL'

Breathable



!







XLMGORIWW



!

Applications characteristics

Ti

indoor temperature chosen according to use (ex. civil or industrial)

Te

conventional outdoor temperature (according to Latitude/Longitude of the place)

Ur

relative humidity

thermal transmission coefficient (kcal/m2 h C)

Breathable
thermal conductivity of the insulating material (for Ecozero

-730%1)283%'978-'378%2(%6(->>%83(-*%''-%8%

6[

(QR8

= 0,04 kcal/m h C)

Applications characteristics

Example:

The Freudenberg Politex Group

Ti = 20C
Te = -5C
Ur = 75%
To calculate the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures:
T = Ti - Te = 20 - (- 5) = 25 C

Using the diagram, starting with the indoor temperature (20 C), draw a line until it crosses the line corresponding to the
relative humidity value (75%); proceed in the same way until crossing the T value (25 C) from which k = 0.9 kcal/m2 h C
is obtained.
Crossing the thermal conductivity curve, a recommended minimum thickness of the insulating material of 40 mm is
obtained.
This choice (considerating Ur and T) guarantees the absence of condensation and of the dew point within or near the
insulating material that would otherwise lose effectiveness.
Breathable

THERMAL PROPERTIES

STANDARD

Thermal insulation

UNI 7891
UNI fa 113

Breathable

THICKNESS mm

DENSITY kg/m3

U.o.M.

25

0,0401

35

0,0380

20

50

0,0359

100

0,0324

40

W/mk

Acoustic insulation
INTRODUCTION
There are many sources of noise affecting houses, from both outdoors and indoors.
In addition to noises from traffic, manufacturing and technological plants, there are many other internal factors that
can also generate irritating noise.

The solution: efficient, accurate soundproofing to minimize noise, installing

an insulating material featuring a high
sound-absorption power ( ).

(QR8
6[

-66-8%8-2+23-7)

SOUND-PROOFING AND SOUND-ABSORPTION

6)

*0)

'8

)(

(

92
73
8 +=
2 6
() )
'- )2
2

86

%2

71

-88

)(

%&736&)(

Two physical parameters characterise the

acoustic performances of a structure:
its sound-proofing power (R) and its
sound-absorption power ( ).

The sound absorption power ( ) is the capacity of a material to absorb a quantity of sound energy (see
scheme above).
The parameter defining this property is the sound absorption coefficient ( ) given by:

Breathable

with

absorbed energy
incident energy

Breathable
variable
between 0 and 1.

According to this calculation, saying that

20 Kg/m3 has an = 0.74 means that the product absorbs 74%
of the acoustic energy that impacts it.
The principle according to which
absorbs sound is the transformation of incident sound energy into heat.
As with allBreathable
porous materials, the sound wave penetrating the material causes an oscillation of the air in the cavities,
resulting in the production of energy and a slight temperature increase (not perceived by human beings).
The sound-absorption in these materials is linked to different factors such as thickness and density of the material, frequency
of the incident sound.
The value of ( ) is calculated according to the UNI EN 20354 standard.

Applications characteristics

The Freudenberg Politex Group

The sound-proofing power (R) of a wall system is its capacity to reduce the quantity of sound energy crossing the
system itself (sound energy transmitted).
The transmission of a sound depends on the frequency of the incident vibrations, but also on the mass/thickness of the
Breathable
system. In fact the mass law states:
the greater the mass/thickness, the higher the sound-proofing power of the wall.
So it would be necessary to have very high thickness values in order to have acceptable sound-proofing values.
Breathable
To achieve a considerable performance improvement, the use of construction systems composed of
multiple layers (mass spring mass systems) that include
is recommended.
This system, although with low mass, allows the interruption of sound vibrations, which without continuity have a reduced
Breathable
impact.
The sound-proofing efficiency (R) of
is measured in laboratories in accordance with the UNI EN
ISO 140-3 standard.
From R, through a process coded by UNI EN 717-1, we can obtain the index for assessing the soundproofing power in decibels (Rw) of
.
, together with the other elements of the wall, contributes to obtain a general Rw.

Breathable

ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES

STANDARD
Sound absorption
false ceiling and wall

EN 20354

THICKNESS mm

DENSITY kg/m3

40

25

0,72

50

20

0,74

40

50

0,80

COEFF.

RW
Sound insulation
cavity wall

Breathable

EN ISO 140 - 3
EN ISO 717 - 1

40

30

55dB

Fire reaction of building materials

INTRODUCTION
A fire is a combustion process in which two elements (the combustible-material and the comburent-oxygen), in the
presence of a trigger source, bring forth a reaction producing heat and smoke.
Passive protection is a set of measures aimed at limiting flame propagation in case of fire. It implies the use of
low combustible materials for protecting the load bearing elements of the building.

LEGISLATION
In 1988 the directive 89/106/EEC was implemented to regulate the marketing of construction products on the
basis of six fundamental requirements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Mechanical resistance and stability

Safety in the event of fire
Hygiene, health and environment
Handling safety
Noise protection
Energy saving and heat detainment

It is therefore necessary to subject the product to a series of EU tests which are required for the specific product and
based on the following directives.

METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE FIRE REACTION CLASS

The European system
The UNI EN 13501-1 standard currently defines 7 classes of reaction to fire, from A1 (non-combustible) to F
(non-classified) in combination with the abbreviation FL for floor or L for technical installation insulation, or without
any abbreviation for wall-false ceiling applications. There is also a sub-class relevant to dripping (d0, d1, d2) and
one relevant to smoke opacity (s1, s2 and s3).

Ecology and environment

Unlike some thermal insulating materials that are feared to be carcinogenic and possibly a skin irritant for humans,
can be handled without any negative consequences. It does not disperse any harmful fibres into the
environment, which could constitute a risk to health. Furthermore its composition does not include any phenolic,
formaldehyde, or ammonia-based binders, which are highly polluting and very dangerous in case of fire.
Breathable
is entirely environmental
friendly (as certified by the OEKO-TEX mark) and as demonstrated by the fact
that the material does not have to undergo special processes (e.g., enveloping or sealing) which are compulsory for
other insulating products.

STANDARD

Breathable
OEKO - TEX Certificate

UNI EN ISO 3071/06

UNI EN ISO 105 - E04/98

TEST REPORT

064372.0

Technical datasheet

Breathable

STANDARD
Weight

EN ISO 9073 - 1

Composition

from 300 to 4000

g/m2

100% Polyester (PET)

thermal bonded

Technology
Melting point
Thickness

U.o.M.

Breathable

EN ISO 9073.2

Density

Other technical parameters defining

260

from 4 to 160

mm

from 15 to 160

Kg/m3

are given at the end of the chapter on application.

Feb. 2007 edition

SPECIFICATION ITEM
type mats in heat-bonded, non-toxic, water-repellent, ecological 100% polyester fibre, obtained using
PET recycled bottles. These mats will be provided with a thickness of ...mm, a density of ...Kg/m3 and will measure
...x..., and must have the following characteristics:
Approval of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, fire reaction class 1 - nonflammable material
(in relation to the specific application: walls, false ceilings, cavity walls).
OEKO-TEX certification standard 100 guarantees compliance with ecological requirements.

The Freudenberg Politex Group

www.freudenbergpolitex.com

Note

The Freudenberg Politex Group