Are you considering insulated wall panels for your home or commercial building? That’s indeed a sound decision. Wall panels help regulate temperature, provide certain levels of soundproofing, protect from fires, and make your interiors beautiful. They’re good investments to keep your home or establishment safe and more comfortable.
Now, how do these panels affect your room’s temperature regulation? Let’s delve deeper into two main benefits of these panels – insulation and warmth – in this article.
What Are Insulated Wall Panels?
Insulated wall panels are composed of two metal exteriors with an insulating material sandwiched in between them. Some panels are also made from a precast concrete exterior. Typical insulation materials sandwiched in between the metals or concrete pieces include any of the following:
- Expanded polystyrene (EPS)
- Extruded polystyrene (XPS)
- Polyisocyanurate
These insulating materials are rigid and offer excellent thermoregulation, soundproofing, and fireproofing properties.
Now, the wall panels are typically installed over a room or building’s structural walls. They’re easy to manipulate and install. They also come in various customizable colors and applied finishes, giving even more beauty to a room.
How Do Wall Panels Insulate a Room?
Insulation and warmth are the most important properties of sandwich metal and precast wall panels. The insulating materials play a huge role in the effectiveness of a panel to insulate the room where it is installed. Each material sandwiched in between the panel’s exteriors has its properties and R-value ratings.
R-Value Ratings Defined
R-value ratings refer to the insulation material’s ability to hold conditioned air inside a room. It is determined by how slowly the material moves heat through it. An insulated wall panel with a slower heat movement gets a higher R rating, meaning it can keep a room’s temperature well-regulated.
Now, let’s see how the two common insulating foam materials work in thermoregulating walls inside a room.
Polystyrene
Polystyrene is the most common insulation used in wall panels. It’s a common type of plastic and comes in a foam form for the sandwich wall panel. Expanded polystyrene is the one used in packing foam pellets, while extruded polystyrene is more rigid and is an ideal insulation material for larger buildings.
Tiny air bubbles are trapped inside the foamed polystyrene, whether it be expanded (EPS) or extruded (XPS). These millions of air bubbles collectively prevent heat transfer since air does not conduct heat efficiently. This mechanism combined with a high thermal resistance makes polystyrene good at regulating a room’s warmth and temperature.
Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is dense and wicks moisture away, making it a great insulation with high R-value ratings. Meanwhile, expanded polystyrene (EPS) is less dense and absorbs moisture, so its R-value ratings may degrade in time. You’ll need a vapor barrier to protect and extend the life of this insulated wall panel type.
Polyisocyanurate
This is another rigid foam material used for insulation. It’s often used for roofs, but it can also be utilized for wall panels. It thermoregulates a room through its gas-filled tiny cells inside the foam structure, similar to how polystyrene works. However, it’s more rigid and dense than polystyrene insulation materials. Polyisocyanurate also has a high R-value rating, protects against fire, and can effectively soundproof a room.
Summary
If you are looking for quality products, must consider the best insulated wall panels manufacturers that use different materials for both the insulation core and its exteriors. Metals and concrete are often used for the exterior, while EPS, XPS, and polyisocyanurate are used as core insulating materials. Choose one that will work well for your building depending on your insulation needs.
Burton Industries 