Glass curtain facades are very commonly used in office buildings all over Europe. There are many different kinds of glass facade systems available and all may have specific requirements on the insulation application. This applicationshows only one principal solution.
As with industrial walls, the metal frame sets specific thermal insulation requirements. The thermal conductivity of stainless steel is about 400-times higher than that of timber and over 1000-times higher than that of stone wool. The thermal resistance of the structure can be significantly improved by adding fully-covering wall insulation on top of the steel studs. An insulation layer breaks down the cold bridges effectively.
Well thought-out structural design is especially important in glass facades, because any mistakes often cause visual harm and are therefore easy to detect through the glass. For example, cold bridges often cause moisture condensation, which may result in color changes on the surface. For physical as well as visual reasons it is important to install a proper, solid moisture barrier to prevent the internalmoist air from leaking through the wall structure and condensing on the glass. Effective ventilation is also needed to prevent condensation.
A wall insulation slab with black tissue forms an elegant background to the glass façade. It's not recommended to have the black tissue covered insulation unprotected before the glass is fitted due to the risk of color changes in the surface. The fire performance of the final wall structure is strongly affected by the fire properties of the insulation. All Paroc stone wool products presented here belong to Euroclass A1 - stone wool tolerates high temperatures of up to 1000 °C, protecting the steel structures from fire. |
