Knauf Insulation, the UK’s leading manufacturer of insulation
materials, has carried out a renaming exercise across its range of
rock and glass mineral wool products. To help customers choose the
best product for their needs, product names now focus on their
recommended use. And, with the industry’s widest range of products,
Knauf is uniquely positioned to give impartial advice on the best
choice of insulation material for any type of building.
Knauf found the simple question, ‘Which is best – rock or glass?’
to be one of the most frequently asked during the decision making
process. So, with a product range covering a wide variety of
applications, the company decided users would benefit from names
that helped identify the best product for their needs. Typical
examples of the renaming exercise are: Crown® Wool; which becomes
Crown® Loft Roll to reflect its main area of use, and Rocksilk®
Studio Mattress; renamed as Rocksilk® Acoustic Mattress to better
identify its purpose.
Driving this basic question is the apparent similarity of the two
materials coupled with long-standing misconceptions created by
manufacturers promoting the virtues of just their own product’s
material. Both types of mineral wool have thermal, acoustic and
fire-protection insulation qualities and a range of other
attributes – density, weight, melting point, water repellency, for
example – all of which vary.
Although the insulation’s primary purpose will point towards a
probable ‘best choice’, installation factors can also play a major
part in influencing the decision: clearly, ‘The Best Solution’ is
one that addresses all requirements – not just some of them! “Well,
of course, if you offer only one type of mineral wool that’s all
you can recommend!” smiled John Gaunt, Knauf’s Building Market
Manager, adding, “But, as the only manufacturer of both, it makes
no difference to us – we’ll recommend the best product for the
application.”
As a rule-of-thumb guide, glass mineral wool is generally the
material-of-choice for thermal insulation. With a more controllable
manufacturing process it can be better ‘engineered’ to give a wider
range of thermal conductivity than rock and is lighter in weight.
But a major advantage of rock is its compressive strength and where
this is important – under floors and on flat roofs for example –
rock may be recommended rather than glass.
Both rock and glass have an ’A1’ Euroclass fire classification –
the highest possible – but rock’s greater mass and higher melting
point make it the best choice for fire-protection purposes and
thermal insulation at extreme temperatures. When it comes to
acoustic insulation, their properties are so similar that there’s
very little to choose between either and secondary factors, such as
thermal insulation, play a much greater influencing role.
“It can be a complex subject,” said John Gaunt, “…the fact that the
two materials look similar does make people wonder what the
differences are and whether they are choosing the best one. But,
although finding the best solution very much depends on what your
business or application is, you’ll know you have the correct Knauf
product – just from the name.”
For more details about Knauf Insulation products, or to obtain
copies of their literature, please call 08700 668 660 or e-mail
info@knaufinsulation.com quoting ID: GR10004.
® Registered Trademark of Knauf Insulation
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