Many are afraid to use penoplex, believing that it is unsafe, but this is a controversial statement. The material is only dangerous in case of fire, as it emits harmful substances, but this can also be avoided. Let's learn about the features of this insulation, its advantages and disadvantages, its features and how to use it correctly and where. We will determine whether penoplex indoors is harmful to health, whether it can be used in residential buildings, and whether there are any restrictions.
Appearance Source sps2016.ru
Is polystyrene foam harmful or not to human health?
What insulation should you use to avoid turning your home into a time bomb? After all, any thermal insulation material, with the exception of moss or flax, which is used to insulate wooden log houses, is a synthetic material, which means it contains toxic substances that are potentially dangerous and can harm human health. Particular discussions among users are caused by such questions as “is polystyrene foam harmful as insulation indoors” and “does the harm of extruded polystyrene foam exceed the harm caused by compressed polystyrene foam (ordinary polystyrene)”?
Is the buyer doing the right thing by giving preference to such an easy-to-use, relatively cheap and popular polystyrene foam?
It is dangerous for health to insulate a balcony from the inside with polystyrene foam
Is it true that foam insulation is harmful to health?
Increasingly, modern builders recommend that buyers use penoplex to insulate their homes.
Penoplex with penoplex glue gained its popularity not so long ago, because it was invented only in the middle of the last century, but during this time it has spread throughout the world and began to occupy a position on a par with mineral wool, ordinary polystyrene foam and other well-known materials for thermal insulation.
Penoplex in original packaging
However, you can often hear that there is harm from penoplex, and very significant. Is it really? Let's try to figure it out.
Is extruded polystyrene foam harmful to people?
We suggest you find out whether extruded polystyrene foam is harmful to human health? To do this, let’s break down the composition of the material into its components and consider the main dangerous component – styrene.
- Styrene – 0.05%. This figure is tens of times less than what is allowed by sanitary standards for residential premises in the Russian Federation. At the same time, the maximum permissible concentration of styrene in the EU countries is at the level of 0.002 mg/m3. But, do not forget that styrene tends to accumulate in the body. It demonstrates a cumulative effect (concentration increases 600 times over 20 years). And styrene is released already at a temperature of 25°C.
- The damage to polystyrene foam when exposed to high temperatures is another important aspect. In this case, toxic substances are released: vapors of styrene, benzene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and soot. In this case, the combustion temperature of styrene is 1100°C. At this temperature, even metal melts, which leads to the destruction of the building.
- Time is another indicator. The decomposition period of expanded polystyrene is more than a century. During intensive use (20-25 years), its harm to health increases. After all, during this time, about 60% of the decomposed styrene is released.
- Oxygen, upon interaction with which formaldehyde and benzaldehyde are formed.
Why is styrene harmful?
- phenylethylene (styrene) accumulates in the liver and is not excreted from the body;
- adversely affects the functioning of the heart;
- exposure to styrene is critical for pregnant women, in particular for the fetus;
- entails irritation of the mucous membranes and respiratory tract.
Harm of penoplex: myth or reality?
- 1. What is extruded polystyrene foam
- 2. Harm of penoplex
Among all the modern thermal insulation materials on the market, Penoplex takes the lion's share, thanks to a large number of advantages. The strength of this material is much higher than that of ordinary polystyrene foam; it is not interesting to rodents. Due to its special anti-corrosion composition, penoplex can be used in all situations. In addition, this material is very light, which makes it possible to use it without harm for various structures.
As for the shortcomings, they also exist. Although many are mostly interested not in the disadvantages of penoplex, but in its harm when insulating the internal walls of a house. How harmful is extruded polystyrene foam? Can it be used as internal insulation for walls and floors inside the house? This is exactly what will be discussed in this article from the construction magazine samastroyka.ru.
Where is it safe to use polystyrene foam?
- in places where there are no potential sources of fire;
- in non-residential premises;
- use for external insulation of the base, foundation, insulation of a frame house with polystyrene foam from the outside.
As you can see, insulation inside the house is unacceptable, and polystyrene foam installed under the slate will not cause harm only if it is installed in a non-residential attic with good ventilation.
Let us note once again, answering the question of whether polystyrene foam is harmful indoors, it is not the styrene itself that is harmful, but its concentration. Expanded polystyrene is a completely safe decor, but is not recommended as insulation for residential premises.
How to choose the right penoplex
Whether extruded polystyrene foam is harmful or not depends on its quality. Purchasing insulation from unverified manufacturers is associated with a number of risks. Using a low-quality heat insulator will lead to a poor heat-saving effect and may harm people's health. To ensure that the insulation of walls, balconies, floors, and roofs is reliable and effective, you should:
- Choose the correct thickness. Expanded polystyrene from 20 to 50 mm is available on the market.
- Decide on the type of insulation. The manufacturer offers separate product lines for roofing, foundations, and walls.
- Choose a reliable supplier. There are sellers offering fakes, polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam in Vladimir and other cities that do not have the declared qualities. Appropriate documentation should be requested.
When purchasing, cost is important. Overly tempting offers may be evidence of the seller's dishonesty. This is especially true for large cities, for example, there are many offers of polystyrene in Omsk. Where is the best place to buy, you should ask knowledgeable people, study reviews and contact a responsible supplier.
Flammability of penoplex
The popularity of penoplex for insulation is increasing every year.
The main question remains: does penoplex burn? In production, polystyrene foam is used as the main raw material, which is resistant to fire. This was reflected in the characteristics of penoplex.
What flammability class does penoplex belong to?
The manufacturer produces several lines of insulation, each of which has different fire resistance. The flammability class is indicated on the packaging of the material. Penoplex can be found with characteristics G1-G4. Most types of penoplex belong to the G3-G4 class. By adding antiprenes, the manufacturer managed to reduce flammability.
Is penoplex dangerous in a fire?
Previously, extruded polystyrene foam emitted harmful smoke when burned, which had a negative impact on health.
Modern production technologies have made it possible to improve the structure of thermal insulation material, due to which, when exposed to fire, it emits only carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide, such as wood.
Is penoplex flammable or not?
Like other insulation materials, penoplex has pros and cons, one of which is the material’s exposure to fire. There are disputes between experts and manufacturers on this matter. The insulation burns when exposed to direct flame. It does not contribute to the spread of fire, since with indirect influence it does not burn, but smolders. Penoplex ignition occurs extremely rarely, and in minor fires self-extinguishing is possible.
Is penoplex harmful to health?
To determine whether penoplex is harmful or not, you should familiarize yourself with the production technology. The extrusion method allows you to destroy harmful elements that make up the material during remelting. The result is insulation that is used indoors without causing harm to the owner. Additional processing of the slabs makes it possible to eliminate secretions that negatively affect human well-being. Professionals say that low vapor permeability has a negative impact on the indoor atmosphere, as it can lead to condensation and, therefore, increase the risk of mold and mildew. This characteristic is inherent in all polymer insulation materials, so in this aspect the harm is insignificant.
Sequence of work
To insulate the joints you will need polyurethane foam.
Thermal insulation of a house, garage or bathhouse is an objective necessity. After installing the insulation, heating costs are reduced, and the room temperature remains stable. Placing the heat insulator outside avoids condensation, problems with dampness and reduced space.
It is not always possible to insulate a panel or frame house from the outside. Residents have to insulate the walls of the house from the inside with penoplex. The material's properties are suitable for interior work. To complete the work, you can hire builders or install the slabs and finish the apartment yourself.
Preparatory activities
At the preparation stage, the necessary materials are purchased. To complete the work you will need:
- Penoplex slabs in the calculated quantity, plus a small margin for trimming.
- A special adhesive composition for extruded polystyrene foam, sold in the form of a dry mixture.
- Construction film for insulating joints between slabs.
- Reinforcing fiberglass mesh for plaster.
- Plastic disc-shaped dowels for fixing the insulation - 5 pieces per slab.
- Dry plaster mixture.
- Finishing materials – plasterboard, lining.
When thermally insulating concrete and brick walls, a vapor barrier is required. For high-quality surface preparation, a primer is purchased. If finishing with plasterboard sheets is provided, you need to buy wooden slats or a metal profile to assemble the frame.
Tools
Tools for work
Is penoplex harmful inside the house? Insulation of walls from the inside with penoplex and plasterboard
If you want to insulate the walls of your apartment or house with penoplex and plasterboard from the inside, then see the comments on this page about this insulation method. Insulating walls inside a house with penoplex and plasterboard is possible, but some nuances should be taken into account and not violate the work technology.
So, let's see what the pros and cons of this method are, and also take into account the specialists they leave under this publication.
Advantages of insulation from the inside
The biggest advantage when we insulate walls with penoplex and plasterboard from the inside of a room is the ability to carry out work in winter at negative outside temperatures.
Indeed, it’s winter outside, but it’s cold inside the house. And there is no way to wait for warmer weather to do any work outside.
In such conditions, it is quite possible to increase the level of thermal resistance of the walls by insulating them on the inside with extruded polystyrene foam.
The second big advantage of this method is that it is the only method that allows you to insulate individual apartments in an apartment building at any time.
Moreover, you can insulate the walls from the inside with penoplex and plasterboard yourself. And such work outside on the facade of a multi-apartment high-rise building would require complex lifting equipment and skills in high-rise installation work.
Disadvantages of internal wall insulation
The biggest disadvantage of insulating walls from the inside with penoplex and plasterboard is that we trap moisture inside the room. Extruded polystyrene foam has minimal vapor permeability. This means that all the moisture that should escape through the walls in the form of water vapor will remain in the premises.
However, there are two points that mitigate this disadvantage:
- This minus is valid only for vapor-permeable walls. These include wooden, aerated concrete, foam concrete, and brick walls.
If your house walls are made of concrete panels or expanded clay concrete blocks, then this minus does not matter to you - even before EPS insulation, your walls did not allow water vapor to pass through and did not “breathe.”
- Even in a house with “breathable” walls, you can avoid the appearance of moisture on the inner surface of the insulation sheets, under the gypsum board, if you reconfigure the ventilation system so that it removes a larger volume of air from the premises.
In this case, the volume of air that was previously removed through the walls of the house will be removed through exhaust ventilation.
Practical lesson on wall insulation and plasterboard covering
Next, we will look at how to insulate a wall with penoplex and cover it with plasterboard.
If you don’t understand something or have any questions, leave yours in the answer form at the bottom of the page. We hope that this material was useful to you.
Installation of insulation
The slabs are glued to the wall, secured with disc dowels, the joints are foamed.
Penoplex slabs are laid on the insulated surface using adhesive or combined technology. In the second case, they are additionally fixed with disc-shaped dowels. To fix the slabs, a special glue is used, which is diluted before starting work. The surface of the penoplex is passed with a grater or a needle roller to reduce smoothness. The solution is applied to it with a notched trowel. Depending on the size of the insulated surface, the glue is distributed over the entire slab or along the perimeter and middle.
The insulation is installed using a frame or frameless method. Under plasterboard or wooden lining, a frame is assembled from wooden blocks or special guides. Installation begins with marking the ceiling, then the lines are transferred to the walls. The guides are attached in increments of 600 mm - this is the width of the foam boards. When using wooden blocks, the material is pre-treated with an antiseptic. The heat insulator will fit tightly between the sheathing. The frameless method is less expensive and labor-intensive. The finishing material is attached directly to the insulation.
On the walls
Adhesive for penoplex
The technology for installing penoplex depends on the wall material. For concrete structures that do not have external insulation, the use of vapor barrier is recommended. Freezing of the walls will cause condensation and constant dampness. This problem does not arise in wooden houses.
Laying the insulation begins from the bottom corner. In each subsequent row, it is advisable to move the slabs by half the width. Installation in a checkerboard pattern reduces the length of the seams. Fastening to the wall occurs using various compounds:
- Bitumen mastic - used as a fixative and waterproofing in rooms with high humidity.
- Cement-based mineral adhesive is the most common option. The composition hardens quickly, so it is mixed in small portions. Thorough mixing is required until the solution is homogeneous.
- Polyurethane adhesive in cans is easy to use, one package is enough for 12-15 square meters. m.
- Polyurethane foam - a universal composition that will ensure reliable adhesion to brick, concrete, and aerated concrete. The foam dries quickly and creates a sealed seam.
Penoplex with glue applied is pressed tightly against the wall and held for 40-60 seconds. For reliability, the slabs are fixed with 5 dowels, the fasteners are hammered in the corners and center.
To obtain a smooth surface, a bubble level is periodically applied to the thermal insulation. By increasing or decreasing the layer of adhesive solution, you can adjust the plane.
The gaps between the penoplex are filled with foam. After drying, the protruding parts are cut off. When insulating using the frame method, the slabs are laid in a similar way.
To the ceiling
The technology for insulating the ceiling is no different from the walls.
Ceiling insulation is carried out from the inside or outside. In a private house, to reduce heat loss, penoplex is laid on the floor of the attic. Fixation occurs with an adhesive composition. Boards are attached to the sheathing on top of the heat insulator. In apartments this is not possible, so insulation is done from the inside. The surface is prepared in the same way as walls - cleaned, leveled and primed.
Glue is applied to the surface of the slabs, then they are pressed firmly to the ceiling. Fixing with dowels securely fastens the insulation. If a frame is provided, penoplex is placed between the guides. All seams are filled with construction foam.
Finishing
After the adhesive solution has completely dried, the final finishing begins. The first step is applying reinforcing plaster. This will require putty; you can use a mineral adhesive composition. A reinforcing mesh is laid on a layer of wet mortar. Another layer up to 3 mm thick is applied on top of it. After drying, a finishing putty remains, which is the basis for tiling or wallpapering.
If installation of drywall is planned, plaster is not required. After the glue has dried, the gypsum board sheets are screwed to the frame with self-tapping screws, the fastening step is 30 cm. The joints of the sheets and the places where the screw heads are recessed are puttied using reinforcing tape. The finishing gypsum putty is applied in a thin layer and carefully sanded. The final stage is wallpapering.
The excellent heat and sound insulation properties of penoplex have made it a popular insulation material. The material is safe for health, so it can be used for interior work. Simplicity and speed of installation allow you to do the work yourself.
Do mice chew penoplex?
Penoplex has no nutritional value for mice
The common misconception that foam is the favorite food of rodents is incorrect. Penoplex does not contain biologically active substances, therefore it cannot be of nutritional value for rodents, but they are able to gnaw through thermal insulation, making nests, looking for water and food. In order to protect against rodents, the heat insulation slabs are covered with a metal mesh. If the mice have grown excessively, deratization will be required.
Since penoplex is biologically neutral, it is not of interest to harmful insects, is not susceptible to infection by mold, does not rot, and does not decompose.
Is extruded polystyrene foam harmful indoors? What is polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene?
First you need to understand what polystyrene foam is and how it behaves under various influences. And understand whether polystyrene foam is harmful to health?
Expanded polystyrene is a gas-filled material. They are made by steam heating polystyrene granules. These granules are first filled with gas. The gas used is different: in ordinary polystyrene foam, natural gas is used, in fire-resistant foam, carbon dioxide is used. When heated, the gas expands, and the granules increase many times in size (15 - 30 times the original).
General recommendations
To make working with penoplex easy, pleasant and safe, you need to follow a few basic rules:
- Work with penoplex should be carried out at positive temperatures in the range of 5-30 Celsius. Violation of the temperature regime can affect the quality of thermal insulation.
- Penoplex does not tolerate the effects of certain organic substances and solvents - white spirit, creosote, acetone, which simply corrode it. Therefore, when working, you need to use special adhesives or mounting adhesive foam without toluene.
- For convenience, it is better to choose corrugated rough slabs, which provide increased adhesion to insulated surfaces. This is especially important when it comes to insulating buildings made of smooth foam and gas blocks.
- When purchasing, you should pay attention to the quality of the insulating board. It should be smooth, dense, without cracks or chips. It shouldn't smell. Chemical smells indicate that the heat insulator was produced in gross violations of technological standards. Products must be stored in a closed warehouse and have all the necessary sanitary, environmental, and fire safety certificates. The marking must contain complete information about the manufacturer, as well as a detailed description of the thermal and physical and mechanical properties of the product. It is better to choose penoplex enriched with fire retardants - it has the letter C on it.
Requirements for insulation
Insulation is an important material in construction that can affect the health and safety of occupants. You shouldn't choose based on price alone.
When choosing insulation, it is important to pay attention to the following points:
- The material should not contain fine fibers or dust;
- It should not contain harmful phenol-formaldehyde resins;
- During operation, it does not emit harmful substances even at high temperatures;
- It practically does not get wet, since fungi and mold easily grow in wet material.
According to these criteria, penoplex is absolutely safe. It has the necessary certificates of conformity, has passed all tests and is found safe when used correctly.
Balcony insulation Source remontnik.ru
Modern Penoplex insulation - myths and reality
Myths existing among consumers concern not only how harmful Penoplex is to the human body, but also that a real house should “breathe.” Unfortunately, only wood can provide natural microcirculation of air. A beautiful wooden house outside the city is wonderful, but how to build high-rise buildings from such material? In city apartments, windows and supply and exhaust ventilation provide the necessary air exchange in the room. The supposed harm of penoplex in the house, which consists in the fact that it does not allow the walls of the house to breathe, only testifies in favor of its use, since a house built in accordance with modern requirements should be like a thermos.
But the “vapor permeability” of walls is not only a myth, but real misinformation, the harm of which is much greater than even talk about hypothetical harmful substances in penoplex. It is simply impossible to imagine a multi-story building with steam coming out of the walls on a frosty day. As a result, the walls would be covered with ice, and we would have to talk not about the harmful emissions of penoplex, but about the need to save residents from chronic colds.
A lot can be said about whether penoplex insulation is harmful to health. And we can only remember that slabs of extruded polystyrene foam were used in the construction of a bathhouse at the Novolazarevskaya international scientific station in Antarctica, which indicates their environmental safety.
What is it and where is penoplex used?
Penoplex (“Penoplex”) is a large company that produces construction and finishing materials. The company also produces extruded (melted in a high-pressure oven) expanded polystyrene (EPS, XRS) or penoplex. This is a thermal insulation material that has excellent thermal characteristics. A sheet of material just 2 cm thick retains as much heat as a 20 cm thick wooden wall, 27 cm thick foam concrete or 37 cm thick brick wall.
Compared to foamed polystyrene (foam), penoplex has a higher density, so it better withstands mechanical loads. The material has low moisture permeability and almost does not conduct steam.
Penoplex is used when resistance to stress and low vapor permeability are important. It is used:
- For insulation of floors, facades, internal walls, non-residential basements;
- On flat roofs;
- For insulation of wells and septic tanks;
- On paths and playgrounds.
Using penoplex Source prom.st
The company produces several brands of material that differ in properties. For example, for insulation of foundations and underground garages, frost-resistant “Penoplex Comfort” or “Foundation” is used (it can withstand heavy loads), for insulation of balconies and external walls - “Wall” with low thermal conductivity, for roofs - non-flammable “Roof”.
At the same time, it is important to establish a ventilation system, which, like penoplex, does not allow steam to pass through. In the home, this can lead to increased humidity and the need for artificial regulation. However, this is not always necessary: for example, when insulating the floor, ventilation is not needed.
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in finishing materials and related work
Pros and cons of the material
Advantages of the material
Penoplex is a synthetic material made from polystyrene. It is produced in 600×1200 mm slabs of various thicknesses. There are 5 types of penoplex: 31, 31C, 35, 45 and 45C. They have different densities and strengths, while thermal conductivity remains unchanged. The indicator is not affected by humidity level or temperature. This is the main advantage of insulation. In addition to excellent insulating properties, other advantages of EPS can be highlighted:
- The material is resistant to biological influences, freezing and temperature fluctuations.
- The slabs have high strength values and can withstand significant loads.
- The ease of installation allows you to insulate walls inside the house with penoplex yourself.
- Extruded polystyrene foam is not afraid of the effects of chemical compounds - bitumen, cement mortar, lime, plaster.
- Penoplex insulation for walls inside houses is environmentally friendly.
- The minimum water absorption rate allows the material to be used in conditions of high humidity without additional waterproofing.
- EPS protects against cold and prevents noise transmission. The porous structure makes it a good sound insulator.
- The insulation has a long service life, at least 50 years. The specified parameter is not the limit; the material does not deteriorate even after half a century.
- The light weight of the slabs does not make the structure heavier and simplifies transportation and unloading.
Environmental friendliness of the material
Manufacturers claim that penoplex is an environmentally friendly insulation material. This is due to the following factors:
- The material does not absorb moisture, does not interact with water, due to which it does not change the structure and retains its performance characteristics.
- It does not oxidize in air, which allows the material to be disposed of under normal conditions without resorting to the use of chemicals.
- It is disposed of in household landfills, since it does not enter into chemical reactions with objects and substances located there.
- It is destroyed only when exposed to extremely high temperatures: when heated to 300°C, when exposed to an open flame, destruction occurs at 210°C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-vC3frww5Q
Despite the fact that the thermal insulation material does not harm the environment, the decomposition period of polystyrene foam is long. It is more rational to recycle penoplex. As a result of processing, it is possible to obtain polystyrene, but the process is quite expensive, the cost is comparable to the production of polymer from primary raw materials, but is considered more labor-intensive and complex.
Disadvantages of insulation?
When purchasing insulation, you must remember that all manufacturers, when advertising their products, emphasize only the positive aspects of their product.
The myths about orange insulation discussed below are those facts that you will not find in advertising brochures, but which have a direct impact on human safety and health.
Fireproof or not so much?
Insufficiently high fire resistance is one of the main disadvantages of orange insulation. In general, the issue of flammability of foam plastics is not as simple as it might seem if you do not delve into the essence of the matter.
For the reason that their various modifications have different degrees of fire safety and, in terms of flammability, belong to materials of different categories - from G1 (low-flammable) to G4 (highly flammable).
Pure polystyrene foam is a flammable material, which is its main disadvantage. It ignites easily from any open flame - a lit match, a burning blowtorch, even welding sparks. Therefore, unmodified foam plastic is rarely used in construction.
To increase its fire safety, combustion inhibitors are added to it - flame retardants (substances that prevent fire). Foams with fire retardant additives are called self-extinguishing.
Burning or smoldering of polystyrene foam produces thick black smoke, which can be very toxic due to the additives it contains.
In addition to carbon monoxide, it may contain hydrogen cyanide, phosgene, hydrogen bromide, etc. Inhalation of such substances has a detrimental effect on the respiratory system and nervous system of a person and can lead to rapid death.
It would seem that the issue with the fire resistance of polystyrene foam is easily resolved: add more fire retardant - and the problem is solved. But, firstly, this makes the material more expensive, and secondly, some types of fire retardants contain toxic substances.
Such, for example, as hexobromocyclododecane, which is a bioaccumulative toxin and has been banned for use in the European Union since 2015.
Insulation service life
One of the requirements for insulation materials is that their service life must be commensurate with the durability of the object that is insulated with it. Domestic standards provide for insulation materials to operate for at least 25 years.
If you believe the manufacturers, their polystyrene foams more than provide this period.
Some sources indicate the durability of foam plastics to be 50 years or more. But objective research does not confirm this. The experiments carried out revealed that after 10 years of operation, signs of destruction begin to appear in polystyrene foam.
Speaking about the durability of polystyrene foam, you need to pay attention to one more aspect - the safety of the material that is insulated with it. Although polystyrene foam is a vapor-permeable material, its vapor permeability is low.
Moisture that penetrates into wooden structures from the inside or outside is unable to completely leave them through the insulation layer to the outside. This lack of insulation contributes to the formation of fungi and mold on the wood, leading to its rotting.
Although polystyrene foam is not a breeding ground for fungi, they feel quite comfortable on its surface, especially if this surface interfaces with wood.
Safety and environmental friendliness
As for pure polystyrene, it is truly safe, but the same cannot be said about the components and additives used in the production of expanded polystyrene.
As mentioned above, fire retardants added to polystyrene foam can pose a direct threat to human health and the environment. But the matter is not limited to them alone.
In the production of expanded polystyrene, at the foaming stage, sometimes not only safe CO2 and isopentane are used, but also chlorine- and bromine-containing freons. When heated, the latter are capable of releasing toxic substances, in particular, the well-known phosgene, which is the main component of some types of chemical weapons.
In addition, freons have a detrimental effect on the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from solar radiation. In addition, their greenhouse activity is more than 1000 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. It is not for nothing that the use of freons has been prohibited in the European Union since 2010.
Conclusion from all of the above
When choosing a thermal insulation material for your home, pay attention to the entire range of its characteristics, and not just the heat-insulating properties. Not only the comfort and economy of your home, but also the health of all family members depends on the right choice.
Harm of penoplex
The ancestor of extruded polystyrene foam can rightfully be considered ordinary polystyrene foam, which is made from polymers and gas fillers. There are many rumors about the dangers of polystyrene foam, but all of them are unconfirmed. The fact is that modern thermal insulation materials have been brought to an ideal state in their composition, and pose little threat to the human body.
Of course, no one is saying that penoplex is not harmful when it burns, or that polystyrene foam completely lacks a component such as styrene. The main thing here is the percentage of these most harmful substances, and in materials from well-known and certified manufacturers it is kept to a minimum. In this case, you need to take into account this fact that we are talking about large and well-known manufacturers of thermal insulation materials, which have made their name thanks to the high quality of their own products.
Such products are absolutely harmless when used even indoors. Plus, walls insulated with penoplex are still finished, so it’s pointless to talk about the dangers of this material or the release of something into the air. It’s a completely different matter when products from little-known manufacturers are chosen to insulate a house, and even at a low price. There is a kind of roulette here, since there are absolutely no guarantees about the quality of the purchased materials.
The main disadvantages of penoplex are its inability to withstand high temperatures and its rather expensive cost. In addition, the material is susceptible to chemical attack from solvents. In all other respects, it is excellent thermal insulation for walls and foundations, which is many times superior to polystyrene foam and some other thermal insulation materials.
