Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/734400
16 | OCTOBER 2016 Insulation Structural Panels Inc. offers Rockwall fire-rated wall panels that have been getting a lot of attention in terms of wall and ceiling solutions in places where buildings are close together and the risk of fire spread needs to be considered during renovations and building upgrades, says business development manager Lee Rogers. "In addition to customers moving toward lasting building solutions that won't leave a huge carbon foot- print, our panels are generally easy to work with and meet the specifications of different insurance com- panies and the CFIA," says Rogers. "From fire barri- ers to large commercial buildings, soffits to demising walls, ceilings to partitions, Rockwall panels provide the ideal energy efficient and economical continuous insulation solution for any building project where both fire resistance and thermal control are required." Structural Panel Inc. has been working in some remote areas of Northern Canada where the panels have provided a solution for keeping the harsh ele- ments away from mining and hydroelectric equipment and machines. The SPF industry is beginning to experience changes in regard to blowing agents. "While many cur- rent blowing agents in use are still the 245 and 365 products, we are seeing many start to develop SPF systems with Solstice and other low global warning potential [GWP] blowing agents," says Cole. "This will be a game changer for the SPF industry as we have long been criticized as an industry for our high GWP scores. Over the next couple of years this will no longer be the case and SPF will be very attractive to a larger eco- conscious market." Decisions on material selection are a balancing act of performance, costs, durability and environmental impacts, notes Cole: "Foam is still a petroleum based product. There is research constantly being done to improve our metrics on all fronts. New blowing agents are the driving force to reduce the environmental impact of spray foam now and in the future," says Cole. "Some manufacturers are offering foam systems with high post consumer plastic recycling content. Other manufacturers are working on foam systems using bio based polyols rather than the petroleum based prod- ucts. This is very early stages and not commercially viable yet, but the future is wide open." Icynene is utilizing Opteon 1100 blowing agent for use in its high-performance, closed-cell spray foam insu- lation solutions. "The performance and environmental + Rockwall fire-rated wall panels from Structural Panels Inc.