Soffit board savings with Kingspan Insulation

 New research from quantity surveyors, Rider Levett Bucknall, has shown that the physical properties, specifically the enhanced thermal performance, of Kingspan Kooltherm K110 FM Soffit Board can allow installers to fit an additional 5.25 m2 of insulation every thirty minutes when compared with the closest competitor, rock mineral fibre.

The independent study first compared the physical properties of five common soffit insulation materials. This analysis showed that the thermal conductivity of Kingspan Kooltherm K110 FM Soffit Board (0.018 W/mK) was the lowest on the market, 11% better than the next best material and 89% better than rock mineral fibre. This means that a compliant construction can be achieved with a slimmer thickness of insulation. For example, a 100 mm layer of the insulation material fitted beneath a 150 mm concrete deck can achieve a U-value of 0.17 W/m2K, the recommended best starting point to meet non-domestic Building Regulations in England and Wales. To match this performance with rock mineral fibre, 210 mm would be required. As the rock mineral fibre material assessed within the study is only available in thicknesses of between 130 mm and 160 mm,, two layers of insulation would need to be fitted to a total thickness of 260 mm.

To assess how this might impact an installation, a demonstration was carried out looking at how quickly a 100 mm thickness of Kingspan Kooltherm K110 FM Soffit Board could be installed beneath a 150 mm concrete deck when compared with the thinnest solution of 130 mm thick rock mineral fibre insulant. The results showed that the lightweight, easy to install design of Kingspan Kooltherm K110 FM Soffit Board allowed a 17.28 m2 area to be insulated in 37 minutes compared with just 10.8 m2 with the rock mineral fibre insulation, an improvement of 60%.

The study further showed that Kingspan Kooltherm K110 FM Soffit Board was the only material assessed that could provide details of certification as an ‘excellent’ product under the demanding responsible sourcing standard – BES 6001. The board, produced at Kingspan Insulation’s Pembridge, Herefordshire manufacturing facility, is also FM Approved to FM 4880.

The view the full demonstration of the Speed of Install video and to download the Reduce Your Overheads whitepaper, visit the Kingspan Insulation website