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Energy use in the Middle East is now a prime concern and the insulation products used on a project can have a huge impact on its life cycle costs.
As a construction product, insulation provides several functions and benefits. In the Middle East, protecting a structure and its users against excessive heat gain may be the most obvious of these, but minimising energy use; reducing CO2 emissions; and providing a fire safety barrier are also major factors to consider when selecting the appropriate insulation materials for a project.
And with sustainable building at the top of the agenda in the region, regulations on insulation use are being tightened and manufacturers are developing their products to meet the increasing demands of the end-user. So what measures must be taken to meet the correct standards for insulation in the region and what are the latest products on offer to help contractors achieve their goals?
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Standard practice?
Poor insulation is now recognised as one of the major contributors to building energy loss. In December 2008 the European Union (EU) Commission estimated this loss as the equivalent of US $700 per person per annum, with a total of $377 billion of wasted energy in the EU alone each year.
The more extreme weather conditions in the Middle East and reliance on air conditioning to provide comfortable indoor conditions make the potential for energy loss even greater, as a lack of quality insulation means more cooling will be needed to maintain comfort temperatures. Regulations concerning the insulation levels required on Middle East projects currently vary across the region.
“Each country in the [Gulf] region has established its own set of rules and regulations on insulating buildings against such extreme heat and temperatures,” explains Knauf technical manager Cem Sungar. “Most of these regulations are controlled and implemented by the regional municipalities. These bodies issue and approve building permits for developers and contractors only once they provide proof of compliance with the required regulations,” adds Sungar.
These standards have been regularly refined to meet new demands for energy use and considering advancements in materials technology. “The advancement and progression in regulations since the Tiger Group came into existence in 1968 is impressive,” states Bernard Nasr, executive director, Tiger Profiles & Insulation (TPI). “The awareness of the importance of preserving and protecting the environment has had major impact over the past few years,” he adds. And this tightening of standards is expected to continue.
“As building material technology advances rapidly and provides better insulation solutions, regulatory bodies will demand that insulation solutions meet higher standards in new buildings,” predicts Sungar.But advancements in standards must be accompanied by increased product quality and installation methods if they are to prove truly effective at reducing energy use.
“The regulation by itself is sufficient. There is the minimum request from the Municipality that has to be covered and the representative buildings often are even insulated with a higher thickness. The problem is the requested values will mostly not be reached because of poor quality of the product or the application,” explains Foamglas Building general manager Middle East Marco Thomas Vincenz.
“Regarding thermal protection, an increase in the thickness of the thermal insulation doesn’t make sense [when there is] technical weakness of the detail. For example, avoiding line or even point thermal bridges, which can lead to a reduction of 50% or even more of the thermal protection you still can see all over the Middle East,” warns Vincenz.
Sustainable moves
The increased focus on sustainability has made a big impact on the insulation sector in several ways. The need for good insulation in buildings is one factor, but the processes by which these products are being manufactured is also an issue to be considered.
“Green building and sustainability concerns are certainly on the rise; consequently, building materials used for insulation must now also be produced through sustainable processes,” reports Sungar. “They have to be environmentally-friendly as well: this means that nowadays insulation materials in general cannot be considered green building materials by default if they contain substances that can harm the environment or if their production process has a high carbon footprint,” adds Sungar.
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