At a time when the cost of most other things is rising, Armacell is going against the tide and investing in sustainability by, among other things, lowering the price of its flagship pipe insulation product, ArmaFlex Ultima®. This benefits ISOPARTNER's customers and the environment.
Cutting the price in times of price increases
ArmaFlex Ultima® is a cellular rubber pipe insulation listed in the database for building products that can be used in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled buildings. The product has a very good fire classification, as it produces little smoke in the event of a fire. Armacell now wants to make it more economical to choose the environment and safety:
- ‘Sustainability and safety are important topics for Armacell and have great focus. At the request of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel and our dealers, we are investing further to make it more environmentally friendly and safer to build and live in Norway,’ says Janne Storflor, Country Manager at Armacell Norway.
Innovative technology minimises smoke in case of fire
ArmaFlex Ultima® contributes to increased fire safety thanks to a unique technology that, in the event of a fire, emits minimal smoke and prevents flaming particles from escaping from the insulation.
- When buildings burn, it is the smoke that does the most damage to people. Minimising smoke has been the guiding principle throughout our product development. Ultima also gives more time to evacuate the building, as the flames spread more slowly,’ says Storflor.
An environmentally conscious choice
Good insulation reduces a building's energy needs and provides significant environmental benefits. Yet many types of insulation can be energy-intensive to produce.
- ‘ArmaFlex Ultima saves 140 times more energy than is needed to produce it over its expected lifetime,’ says Storflor.
Another bonus of using the product is that it can be recycled as plastic, while other cellular rubber products usually have to be delivered as hazardous waste.
A fire rating among the best in cellular rubber insulation
To outsiders, the fire classification BL-s1, d0 may seem somewhat cryptic, but to professionals it is reassuring.
Here's a crash course in what the different letters and numbers stand for:
BL: This is an indicator of the material's contribution to fire growth. The scale ranges from A (non-combustible) to F (highly combustible). In this case, ‘B’ stands for a limited contribution to fire growth. L stands for linear pipes.
s1: This indicates the smoke production from the material during a fire. The scale goes from s1 (small smoke production) to s3 (significant smoke production). In this case, ‘s1’ means that the material produces a low amount of smoke.
d0: This describes the production of burning droplets or particles from the material during a fire. The scale goes from d0 (no burning droplets or particles) to d2 (significant production of burning droplets or particles). In this case, ‘d0’ means that the material does not produce burning droplets or particles.
In summary, the cellular rubber material's reaction to fire is among the best for this type of insulation: It has a limited contribution to fire growth, emits little smoke and no burning droplets or particles in case of fire.