17/3/2023
Fire safety is an important part of construction environment as building fires release toxic gasses, carbon, and other harmful emissions. Correct installation of HVAC systems plays an essential role in contributing to the fire safety of buildings.
When a building burns, smoke releases toxic gasses and byproducts that degrade air quality, pollute soil, and contaminate groundwater. Reconstruction of damaged buildings also generates CO2 emissions through the production of new building materials required to reconstruct or renovate the building. Not to mention the social, economic, and emotional aspects of fire fatalities and people losing their homes, workplaces, and revenues.
For these reasons, choosing construction materials with the appropriate fire rating is essential when choosing your building materials. This includes materials and insulation for HVAC systems.
Penetrations play a crucial role
HVAC solutions, such as ventilation ducts and water pipes, are present throughout buildings penetrating walls, including fire-classified walls. This means that their fire rating plays an important role in ensuring the fire safety of the entire building.
In addition to the above, if HVAC systems and penetrations are not properly installed, secured, and insulated with appropriate fire rated materials, they can potentially speed up the spread of fire through different sections of a building, increasing the damage. Therefore, it is essential to choose insulation solutions that are tested and certified according to their fire performance.
At Owens Corning PAROC, we take fire performance very seriously. We have an experienced and dedicated team working on testing our products and solutions ensuring they are certified according to the latest harmonized European standards.
As a result, we can offer our customers various fire rated solutions and clear installation instructions to ensure the fire performance of our products such as insulation for ducts and pipes. We produce easy-to-follow instructions and certificates for our end-users. This is something we get a lot of positive feedback for from our customers.
PAROC® Stonewool is non-combustible
The choice of insulation material can have a big impact on the fire safety of HVAC installations and the entire building.
All PAROC® insulation solutions for HVAC systems are made of stone wool which is non-combustible. In fact, it can withstand temperature up to 1,000ºC.
PAROC® insulation solutions for HVAC systems are classified as Euroclass A1 or A2(L)-s1,d0 – the highest European fire performance class for building materials. On top of being non-combustible, PAROC® Stonewool also releases only a minimal amount of smoke during a fire.
This means that PAROC® Stonewool products and solutions contribute to the fire performance of HVAC systems and are a critical component to your building overall.
Ina Kytö, Market Service & Technical Support Manager, OC PAROC
