Penofol: what is it and what is it for?

Various building materials are used to insulate residential and non-residential buildings. Penofol is also used as insulation. Consider what this material is, what are its advantages and disadvantages.

Penofol is a two-layer heat-insulating building material that can be made of one or 2 layers of foil applied to a base layer of foamed polyethylene. Depending on the type of product, the density and thickness of the foam may vary. Utility and inexpensive insulation is in great demand among buyers, because it has high performance characteristics.

The foil layer, which is 20 microns thick, provides penofol with excellent heat-reflecting properties.

Penofol is used as the main insulating material when it is necessary to insulate a room with normal heat losses and where there is a powerful source of heating (bath, sauna, underfloor heating system in a wooden house). As an additional insulating building material, penofol is used to create integrated heat insulation in residential and industrial premises, while such premises must be equipped with vapor barrier and waterproofing.

The use of penofol has its advantages:

• The small thickness of the material allows you to create reliable thermal insulation of the room.
• Installation of building materials does not require special skills and special tools. It is much easier to work with such material than with other types of insulation.
• The material is environmentally friendly, which makes it possible to use it for food storage.

• Fire safety. This building material belongs to the class of fire-resistant materials.
• Convenience during transportation. The thickness of the product allows the insulation to be rolled up, which allows it to be transported in the luggage compartment of the car.
• Excellent sound insulation. Mounting of penofol on top of the frame of building structures provides good isolation of extraneous sounds.

Penofol has not only positive qualities. There are also disadvantages of using this building material:

• The insulation is soft. Because of this, this product is not used for finishing plastered walls. With light pressure, the material bends.
• To fix the insulation, you will need special adhesives. It is not recommended to nail it to the surface, because in this way penofol loses its thermal insulation qualities.

As you know, heat transfer from product to product is transferred In 3 ways:

• heated air;
• thermal conductivity of materials;
• radiation - the transfer of heat from one product to another occurs using electromagnetic waves of the infrared spectrum.

Let's consider some of the differences between penofol and other thermal insulation materials.

Most heat-insulating building materials (mineral wool, izolon, penoplex, tepofol) interfere with one of the types of heat transfer. A distinctive feature of foil-clad material from other types of insulation is that it has a complex effect: foamed polyethylene is an obstacle to convection, and thanks to the aluminum foil, the thermal reflection rate reaches 97%.

Penofol can be compared with only one group of thermal insulation materials - isolon. Comparing isolon and penofol, there is no significant difference in the quality and method of their use. To determine the winner, you need to look at the availability and price category of a particular building material. The only advantage of Isolon is that the assortment has been expanded with sheet building materials, the thickness of which ranges from 15 to 50 mm.

Penofol is mounted with glue, and the fixing of the penoplex is performed using self-tapping fungi. Also, foil insulation does not accumulate heat, but, on the contrary, reflects it.

Minvata is attached only to vertical slats. The price category of penofol is significantly less than that of mineral wool.

Consider the main technical characteristics of the insulation, thanks to which it is in great demand among consumers:

• The temperature range for working with an insulating product for all types of foam foam varies from -60 to +100 degrees.
• The size of the thermal shielding of the foil layer ranges from 95 to 97 microns.
• The level of thermal conductivity of the material: type A-0.037-0.049 W / mk, type B- 0.038-0.051 W / mk, type C-0.038-0.051 W / mk.
• Moisture saturation with full immersion in water for a day: type A-0.7%, type B-0.6%, type C-0.35%.

• Weight (kg / m3): type A-44, type B-54, type C-74.
• The coefficient of elasticity under a load of 2 Kpa, MPa: type A-0.27, type B-0.39, type C-0.26.
• Compression level at 2 Kpa: type A-0.09, type B-0.03, type c-0.09.
• The elasticity of all types of penofol does not exceed 0.001mg / mchPa.
• The heat capacity of all types of building materials is 1.95 J / kg.

• Compressive strength level - 0.035 MPa.
• Flammability class: G1 in accordance with GOST 30224-94 (slightly flammable).
• Flammability level: B1 in accordance with GOST 30402-94 (hardly flammable).
• Sound absorbing properties - not less than 32 dB.

The range of penofol is represented by the following products:

• S-08 15000x600mm (packing volume 9 sq. M);
• S-10 15000x600x10 mm;
• S-03 30000x600 mm (18 sq. M);

• S-04 30000x600 mm (18m2);
• S-05 30000x600 mm (18 sq. M).

There are 3 main types of penofol, depending on the production technology, dimensions and technical characteristics:

Polymeric insulation material of various thicknesses, foil is applied only on one side of the building material. This type of heater is popular in the complex insulation of building structures; it can also be combined with some heaters: glass wool, mineral wool.

Insulation covered with foil on both sides. Thanks to this design, the material has the maximum insulation effect.

Self-adhesive penofol, which is covered with foil on one side, and on the other, a thin layer of adhesive is applied to it, covered with a film. Depending on the size of the product, it is used on almost any surface, which saves time. Before starting work, this building material must be cut into strips of a certain size.

Regular penofol (types: A, B, C) has a white base, while penofol 2000 has a blue base.

There are several more types of penofol that are not in great demand among consumers.

One-sided insulation, which has a relief pattern on the foil side of the insulation. It is similar to type A penofol, but it is mainly used as a special decoration element for interior decoration.

There is penofol without a foil coating, which does not have the corresponding type, but builders call it a substrate for a laminate (linoleum).

Heaters with a narrow direction:

• ALP - material laminated with polyethylene film. Possesses high reflective performance. It is used for insulating incubators.
• NET - this type of insulation is similar to type B, it is produced in narrow roll sheets. Used to insulate pipelines.

A novelty in the field of manufacturing polymer insulation materials is perforated foam foam. Such building material is able to breathe, because it has a large number of micro-holes. It is often used to insulate wooden structures.

Penofol is produced in rolls of various lengths, the maximum size of which is 30 m. The width of the web varies from 0.6 to 1.2 meters. The thickness of the material depends on the type of penofol. Standardized material thickness: 2,3,4,5,8,10 mm. In rare cases, 40 mm thick materials are produced.

The foil material, which is 1 cm thick, has a high level of noise protection and retains heat much better. Insulation with a thickness of 5 mm, which has high technical characteristics, is very popular.

Penofol is available in rolls. The standard length of the rolled sheet depends on the thickness of the building material and is 5, 10, 15, 30, 50 m.

The scope of application of penofol extends not only to internal insulation, but also to external insulation. Also, this type of insulation is used for thermal insulation of residential premises, civil and industrial production:

• a country house or an apartment in a multi-storey building;
• roof;
• ceiling coverings;
• attics and attics;

• basement and basement structures.
• underfloor heating system (water, electric) and roof insulation;
• building facades;
• water and air pipes;
• insulation of refrigeration facilities;
• ventilation and air duct system.

Sometimes foil material is pasted over the wall where the battery is located. This is done so that the heat is not absorbed by the wall, but goes into the room.

For domestic needs, three types of foam foam are used: A, B, C. The scope of this material as a heat-insulating building material is very extensive: walls, ceiling, floor, insulation of concrete surfaces, loggias, insulation of wooden and frame buildings.

Do-it-yourself penofol installation work can be done easily without the involvement of specialists, the main thing is that the safety instructions are followed.

Before proceeding with fixing the insulation, it is necessary to prepare the base of the floor with a concrete screed. For this purpose, a slurry of cement is used, which is poured onto the surface and leveled.

The following actions are related to the selected type of penofol:

• If penofol type A is used, then a fixing glue is applied to the foam plastic in a uniform layer, after which the penofol is fixed.
• If type C foil is used, then no adhesive is applied. This type of material is already equipped with an adhesive solution on the back of the building material. To prevent the waterproof adhesive solution from drying out prematurely, it must be covered with polyethylene. Before starting work, the plastic film is carefully removed, and then the foil material is laid out on the foam.

The building material is laid in such a way that the overlap of the foil on the walls is obtained (about 5 cm), and the resulting joints are glued with aluminum insulating tape.

When installing a warm floor system, there are 2 main types of installation: the use of a lag or a concrete screed. Lags are used if a wooden floor will be mounted on top of the insulation. In this case, wooden joists are installed along the floor over the heating elements.

The horizontal alignment of the beams must be controlled using a building level. Then, a wooden covering is mounted on top of the lag. Thus, the foil-clad material will heat up and give off heat from the bottom to the wooden coverings.

The second variation is to install the underfloor heating system under the tiles. In this case, the heating special elements are covered with a reinforced mesh and poured with a concrete mixture. For this type of installation, it is necessary to use penofol type ALP.

Foil-clad material of type B is used to insulate the internal walls. Its installation is more complicated than other types of foam foam, but this insulating material is able to create the most effective thermal insulation of the room.

The material with a double-sided metal special coating is mounted as follows:

• Using dowels, you need to fix the bars to a concrete wall (1-2 cm thick).
• A layer of type B foam is mounted on them using screws or mounting brackets.
• A plasterboard product is laid on top of the insulating building material, which is fixed to the slats with self-tapping screws. To ensure that there are gaps for ventilation, wooden blocks are installed on top of the insulating material, the thickness of which is similar to the previous slats. Then the drywall is fixed.

To avoid drafts, the joints of the foil-clad product must be glued with a damper tape. Instead, you can use penofol, which is cut into strips of the required width.

Insulation of indoor ceilings begins with fixing a thin layer of foil material onto the base coat. Wooden slats are screwed onto the primary insulating layer, which are the frame for the main insulating building material. On top of the rails, the main heat-insulating layer is fixed by means of a construction stapler or screws. If it is necessary to install a third layer of insulation, then its installation is carried out similarly to the previous variation.

After a careful study of the technology of insulation of ceilings, walls and floors, the implementation of thermal insulation in rooms such as a balcony will not cause difficulties. In this case, the material must be laid on the rafters, and fastened with staples. The main thing is that the insulation material for the balcony does not have a lot of weight, otherwise an accident may occur.

Penofol mounting technology is no different from other types of insulation. But it is necessary to take into account the fact that fixing penofol on wooden surfaces both outside and inside is carried out only in the summer, and it is desirable that several hot days pass before starting work.

A correctly selected adhesive solution for foil-clad material is not yet a guarantee of a successful installation. For a high-quality connection of materials, it is necessary that the surface to be glued is carefully prepared. All defects, irregularities, various debris must be eliminated.

Concrete floors and walls are leveled, cracks are repaired, and metal products are treated with an anti-corrosion agent.

Adhesive for foil insulation can be both specialized and universal. You can also use liquid nails, double-sided tape, a thin layer of polyurethane foam. The choice of glue depends entirely on the purpose of the surface and its further use.

The adhesive composition must correspond to the performance of the insulation material:

• indoor use permit;
• the toxicity of the solution should be 0;
• high adhesion resistance;
• the glue must withstand temperatures in the range of -60 to +100 degrees.

In order for penofol to be reliably glued to the surface, the glue must be applied to the side that does not have a foil layer. The adhesive is applied evenly, without gaps. The edges of the panel are carefully coated with glue so that the foil material does not come off during operation.

Before proceeding with fixing penofol, you need to wait 5-60 seconds for the glue to dry slightly. Thus, a better adhesion to the products is ensured. Penofol is pressed to the surface, holding it, and smoothed with particular care.

Penofol insulating material is in great demand among consumers. Due to its high technical characteristics, it has positive reviews.

Due to the fact that the melting point of penofol is much higher than other heaters, this material is used to insulate walls, roofs, as well as insulate the floor from the inside in rooms made of logs (bath, sauna). As a result, high temperatures are kept inside for 48 hours.

The use of foil-clad material for thermal insulation of walls inside a brick house allows you to create effective thermal insulation of the room, while the loss of thermal energy is not terrible.

The use of foil-clad material for exterior decoration of the house allows not only to insulate the room, but also to protect the building from an aggressive environment.

For information on how to insulate walls with penofol, see the next video.