Dow says it has become the first company to attain a coveted Green Guide Rating A+ by BRE Global for its extruded polystyrene (XPS) roofing insulation product XENERGY SL, further supporting the performance credentials of the Dow Building Solutions product.
BRE Global is the international provider of BREEAM, the world’s first sustainability assessment method for buildings, which takes into account all materials used in the building and its performance during the building life cycle.
XENERGY SL will help projects achieve improved BREEAM ratings due to its high performance, as recognised by its attainment of the Green Guide Rating A+.
XENERGY SL is a flame-retarded, XPS roof insulation product, which achieves significantly improved lambda insulation performance delivering a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of less than five.
Dow says that by using CO² as the blowing agent and adding infra-red blocking particles to scatter and reflect heat radiation within the foam board used for XENERGY SL, lambda values have been decreased by up to 11%. The result is reduced heat transfer during winter to keep a building warm, as well helping to keep it cool in the summer.
XENERGY SL is designed to offer highly moisture-resistant flat roof insulation at reduced thicknesses versus conventional XPS alternatives and offers a reduction of up to 4mW of thermal conductivity in various thicknesses.
It is manufactured at Dow’s production facility in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, where a wind turbine is used to generate renewable energy for the company’s manufacturing processes. The company says this has resulted in a 13% decrease in the site’s electricity bill and contributes to Dow’s commitment to meeting its sustainability goals by 2025.
Joan Ferrer, technical services at Dow Building Solutions, said: “This outstanding achievement shows the great performance of XENERGY, both by the material’s technical properties and by its cradle to grave life cycle when used in a building, making it the XPS insulation of choice”
