Originally posted in Construction Canada, July 2013
Keeping the Outside Out and the Inside In: A look at rigid foam insulations for high-performance building envelopes
By Ram Mayilvahanan, Insulfoam Product Marketing Manager
If the concept of building science could be distilled to one essential sentence, it would be the now-famous aphorism of Joseph Lstiburek, PhD, P.Eng., building science expert and adjunct professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto.
“The perfect wall is an environmental separator- it has to keep the outside out and the inside in,” he wrote .
Lstiburek’s “perfect wall” (or roof or slab) includes four primary layers:
- rain control;
- air control;
- vapour control; and
- thermal control.
For the last category, specifiers can select from numerous insulation types; fiberglass batts to spray foam and rigid foam boards, as well as integrated systems such as structural insulated panels (SIPs). This article examines the various performance attributes and product options for expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation in high-performance building envelopes.
Read the full article in Construction Canada’s feature article, Keeping the Outside Out and the Inside In.
