29th May 2023

Ventilated Facade

Ventilated facades and wall coverings were developed to protect buildings against the combined action of rain and wind by counterbalancing the effects of water beating on walls and keeping the building dry, with high level aesthetic characteristics and advantages of heat insulation and soundproofing.

Ventilated facades can reduce the amount of heat that buildings absorb in hot climatic conditions due to partial reflection of solar radiation by the external cladding, the ventilated air gap and with the application of Insulation, thus achieving considerable reduction in the costs of air conditioning. Vice versa, in winter, ventilated walls manage to retain heat, resulting in savings in terms of heating.

Thanks to the "chimney effect“ of the ventilated facades, providing efficient natural ventilation, hence the name ventilated facade, notably aiding heat and moisture removal and guaranteeing a high level of living comfort.

Apart from energy saving benefits of ventilated facades it helps reflecting and absorbing external noise and ensure certain level of acoustic comfort.

Fire Performance of Facade

External Façade of the building especially high rise building is always subjected to the risk of fire which may lead to a loss of life and wealth. Keeping in mind the façade specialist prefer non-combustible products to be used in the façade construction. Insulation is integral part of the external façade and Rockwool insulation with it’s excellent fire resistive properties tops the list of Insulation material used on the façade of the building. Saudi Rockwool has wide range of Rockwool insulation products to be used behind the curtain wall which provide thermal, acoustic and fire safety to the building.

Mitigating the Fire risk on the façade is always on top priority of the façade designers/consultant so are preferring the non-combustible material in the façade construction. In most of the countries the regulatory bodies have restricted the use of combustible material to be used in the building construction especially the façade where the risk of fire spread is very high that to be in High rise buildings. With the increase in height of the building the risk of fire increases drastically.

In a recent development most of the countries have implemented the code NFPA-285 i.e. Standard Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Exterior Non-Load-Bearing Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components and it is mandatory to have the façade assembly which contains combustible products as components shall be tested in accordance with the above mentioned code.

SRWF Façade -250 Rockwool Insulation is tested in accordance with NFPA -285 in association with various Cladding manufacturers in UAE with passed certificate.

SRW Rockwool is a non-combustible insulation material to be used in façade insulation application and provides excellent passive fire protections to the building structures.

SRW Rockwool

SRWF has developed a comprehensive product range of Rockwool Insulation to be used in ventilated facades. SRWF Rockwool insulation are water repellant grade and are suitable to be used in external side of the building with a wide range of facing having various level of permeability to a vapor Barrier.

SRWF Rockwool Insulation boards are manufactured in compliance to ASTM C 612, BS EN 13162 and various other international standards. Products are available in Rigid and semi rigid forms as suitable for application.

Non-combustible in accordance with BS EN 1182, and certified Euroclass fire Classification “A1” suitable to use

SRW Rockwool Benefits

  • Water Repellant
  • Non-Combustible
  • Euroclass Fire Classification – “A1”
  • Melting temperature above 1000 °C
  • “zero” Flame Spread Index
  • “zero” smoke Developed Index
  • Acoustically Absorbent (NRC up to 1.0)
  • Fungi / mold Resistance
  • No Capillary action
  • No Toxic smoke or Gases
  • Chemically inert
 

Technical Parameters

Parameters

Unit

Value

Compliance Standard

Thermal Conductivity

W/m.K

0.033 -0.034

ASTM C 177 / ASTM C 518

Density*

Kg/m3

70 - 128

ASTM C 303

Thickness

(mm)

50 - 150

 

Compressive Strength

KPa

4.5 - 20

ASTM C 165

Surface Burning Characteristics

•Flame Spread Index
•Smoke Developed Index
 

Zero

Zero

ASTM E 84 / UL 723

Moisture Absorption

%

<0.2

ASTM C 1104

Water Absorption

%

<1

BS EN 1609