XPS: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Looking for the perfect insulation material for your project? Using SOPRA XPS comes with many benefits. This product range performs excellently in terms of compressive strength, reliability, durability, climate-friendliness, and recyclability – among other characteristics. In what follows, we explain the advantages and disadvantages of XPS insulation in more detail. 1. HOW STRONG IS XPS? Our insulation boards have excellent load-bearing capacities, making them the ideal choice for – among other applications – ballasted roofs, rooftop car parks, parking garages, floors of industrial buildings that have to bear the weight of heavy machines, and cold storage environments where both compressive strength and insulation performance are required. SOPRA XPS 500 and SOPRA XPS 700 perform well under high compression, with respective compressive strengths at 10% deformation of 500 and 700 kPa. 2. THE THICKNESS OF XPS SOPRA XPS provides good thermal insulation even in boards with limited thickness. Our XPS boards with 300 kPa start from 30 millimetres; 500 kPa from 40 millimetres; and 700 kPa from 50 millimetres. The maximum thickness is 300 millimetres, depending on the panel. SOPRA XPS CW Artic and SOPRA XPS SL Artic go up to 200 millimetres in thickness. 3. XPS LAMBDA VALUE / XPS INSULATION VALUE The closed-cell structure of XPS results in very low lambda values (ranging from 0.029 (for SOPRA XPS Artic) to 0.036 W/mK). 4. A DURABLE INSULATION MATERIAL Soprema offers a forty-year SOPRACOVER Warranty on systems consisting of SOPRA XPS and DUOFLEX – a combination that is frequently used in inverted roofs, plazas and podiums. As this impressive warranty already makes clear: provided installation and maintenance instructions are followed, XPS boards have a very long lifespan and will not degrade over time. 5. IS XPS WATERPROOF? XPS insulation is highly resistant to water and moisture ingress due to its closed-cell structure, making it the go-to insulation material for foundation walls and other below-ground applications, as well as for inverted roofs. 6. THE WEIGHT OF XPS INSULATION Because XPS boards are very light and easy to handle, they are easy to install. XPS is the ideal solution for blue roofs and green roofs which require insulation properties and a highly compressive insulant. It can be combined with DUOFLEX where the BBA states approval for blue and green roof applications. 7. SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING Thanks to its long lifespan, XPS is a more sustainable insulation option than insulation materials that need regular replacement and thus generate waste across the raw material, manufacturing and disposal cycle. But there are more ways in which our BREEAM A-rated SOPRA XPS products prove that plastics in construction can be sustainable. While our Artic products are manufactured elsewhere, most SOPRA XPS boards are made in Tongeren with climate-friendly CO2 technology. In our Belgian XPS factory, we refrain from using chemicals like HFC and opt for CO2 as a blowing agent instead. Moreover, for raw materials we use the cutting waste of other XPS boards and new or end-of-life EPS, among other resources. Of course, the fact that XPS insulation enhances the thermal performance of a building (thereby reducing its energy demand), also contributes to its sustainable character. SOPRA XPS is approved by the Green Guide to Specification. 8. CAN YOU RECYCLE XPS? After disassembly, XPS boards can be 100% recycled. It goes without saying that the extruded boards are a clever move towards a circular economy and a circular construction industry. 9. A WIDE VARIETY OF XPS APPLICATIONS XPS has an impressive application versatility. The insulation type is best suited for inverted roofs but has plenty of other applications as well – from floors to walls. For distributors, having one type of XPS panel at their disposal offers a wider scope as the product can serve multiple purposes. The boards also come with various edge profiles, from tongue and groove to rebate and straight. 10. TOTAL WATERPROOFING AND INSULATION SOLUTION We have already mentioned that SOPRA XPS and DUOFLEX are often used together, but our extruded boards are compatible with the entire Soprema waterproofing range. Because we manufacture all system components, we can also ensure the product compatibility of XPS with, for instance, basement waterproofing or structural waterproofing systems. Partnering with a single manufacturer for both insulation and waterproofing also results in a single point of warranty and contact. THE DISADVANTAGE OF XPS Fire classification is a disadvantage of some insulation types. XPS insulation has a Euroclass E rating. Yet when XPS insulation boards are used in an inverted roof scenario, with a ballasted finish, the system can be classified as unrestricted in the UK, meaning that it can be used within any distance to other buildings. Similarly, while some cassette-packaged green roof systems will require independent BROOF(t4) testing, a fire test is not necessary to comply with UK guidelines in the case of: protected roof specifications, including an inorganic covering listed in the Annex of Commission Decision 2000/553/EC; a roof garden covered with a drainage layer of gravel 100 mm thick and a soil layer 300 mm thick; irrigated roof gardens, green roofs, blue roofs, and brown and biodiverse roofs.

For more information on XPS: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES talk to SOPREMA UK