What is penofol, what is its structure, varieties, technical characteristics, pros and cons of a heat insulator, selection rules and features of installation of foil-clad material.
Penofol advantages
The main advantages of penofol include the following qualities:
- Small thickness … Compared to many heat insulators, penofol is very thin. At the same time, it is not inferior to the quality of thermal insulation. They can insulate the walls from the inside, and he will not "steal" free space.
- Light weight … The material is very light. Therefore, it is convenient to transport and install it alone.
- Ease of installation … Penofol does not crumble, does not break, does not require the use of personal protective equipment and special tools. It is easily cut with an ordinary knife or scissors, and is attached to tape, staples or small nails.
- Environmental Safety … Foil and polyethylene foam, which are the components of the penofol insulation, are absolutely harmless. They are also used in food packaging. The toxicity of these substances is reduced to zero.
- High fire resistance … The material is hardly flammable, so it can be used even for insulating places with high fire safety requirements.
- No vapor barrier required … Penofol has low vapor permeability, so it does not require any additional insulating layers.
- Low price … This is a fairly economical material. In addition, there are no installation costs.
Disadvantages of penofol
Like other thermal insulation materials, foil-clad penofol has a number of disadvantages. Let's consider them:
- Lack of rigidity … The softness of the material does not allow plastering, painting or wallpapering over foam foam. Light pressure can temporarily deform the material.
- Poor adhesion … Penofol weakly adheres to walls, since its adhesion properties are quite low. You need to purchase special glue or use fasteners. However, in the case of the latter, care must be taken so as not to reduce the insulating qualities of the material. Also, a self-adhesive foil insulation can be a way out of the situation.
- Aluminum conducts well … When installing penofol, it is necessary to reliably protect the wiring and prevent breakdowns.
Penofol selection criteria
When choosing foamed polyethylene foam for thermal insulation purposes, you must follow these recommendations:
- From the point of view of the ratio of price and quality, the material with a thickness of 4-5 millimeters is optimal.
- Penofol can be used in any living space. But for saunas, baths, it is recommended to use reflective heat insulators based on polypropylene, which is more resistant to high temperatures than penofol.
- To calculate the required amount of heat insulator, keep in mind that the size of penofol is usually determined by square meters. One roll contains 9 to 18 squares.
- The reflectivity of the insulation depends on the material from which the foil is made. An aluminum layer is optimal. However, sometimes there may be restrictions on the use of this metal due to the fact that it is a good electrical conductor. Then you should give preference to the material with a metallized lavsan film.
- Pay attention to whether or not penofol is sewn. If so, how. It can be a chemical or physical method. It is preferable to choose a non-stitched material or one that is chemically stitched.
When buying penofol, you can easily check its quality. To do this, you need to unfold the roll and look through it at a bright light source. So you can see the homogeneity of the material, the presence of spots, stripes.
Price and manufacturers of penofol
Penofol is a registered trademark. In Russia, the plant that has official rights to produce this material is LIT. On the market, you can also find analogues of penofol, which are produced under other names: Energoflex, Magnoflex, Tepofol, Izolon, Porileks, Maxizol and others. It is worth noting that Penofol-2000 is distinguished by a lower price. Its cost starts at 50 rubles per square meter. However, this material is based on cross-linked polyethylene foam, which has the worst technical characteristics. The price of penofol differs depending on its brand, thickness and density. Grade A is the cheapest among classic penofols (from 155 rubles per square meter). The cost of brand B material starts at 180 rubles per square meter. The price for self-adhesive penofol starts at 230 rubles per square. Carefully study the packaging and documents provided by the seller of the goods. Remember, if the manufacturer of penofol is not specified, then you are not dealing with this material at all, but with its analogue.
Brief instructions for installing penofol
As a rule, this heat insulator is used to insulate the walls of a room from the inside. For these purposes, it fits perfectly.
Consider the instructions for installing penofol with your own hands:
- We are preparing a frame made of wooden beams on the wall. Provide an air gap of about 20 millimeters.
- We fasten the bars with dowels with a step of 1 meter from each other.
- We check the quality of the electrical wiring. We carry out its isolation, if necessary.
- We cut the penofol strips with a knife and put them end-to-end (without overlaps).
- We attach the material to the frame with the reflective side towards us, using a furniture stapler or special glue.
- We glue the seams with metal tape.
- We re-mount the wooden frame with an indent of about two centimeters.
- On top of the second frame, you can put plasterboard sheets, panels that are putty, painted and pasted over with wallpaper.
Exactly according to the same scheme, floor insulation is carried out with penofol. Only the frame will be wooden logs.
Watch the video review of penofol:
Penofol is a relatively new heat insulator. It differs from most heaters in that it is able not only to act as an obstacle to the cold, but also to reflect heat into the room. Its cost is relatively low, and styling does not require special skills.
