Fire Safety of External Thermal Insulation Systems (ETICS) in the Aspect of Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

Małgorzata Niziurska, Michał Wieczorek and Klaudiusz Borkowicz
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Małgorzata Niziurska: Lukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials, Cementowa 8 Str., 31-983 Krakow, Poland
Michał Wieczorek: Lukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials, Cementowa 8 Str., 31-983 Krakow, Poland
Klaudiusz Borkowicz: Lukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials, Cementowa 8 Str., 31-983 Krakow, Poland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) are the most common technical solution to improve the thermal efficiency of existing buildings. In the light of the applicable regulations, ETICS are kits that apply only one type of thermal insulation material. All typically used ETICS introduced into the market classify as non-combustible. Despite that, the emerging recommendations in some countries point to the need for the introduction of barriers of non-combustible material such as mineral wool (MW) around the openings and horizontal isolation barriers around the building between different floors to prevent fast fire spread. That raises an important question: Do MW partitions significantly improve the fire safety of the building and balance other aspects such as the sustainability and durability of such combined insulation materials with different properties? Here, we assessed the impact of MW partitions in EPS-based ETICS on the spread of the fire according to the requirements of BS 8414-1: 2020. Four different variants were investigated. The study showed slight differences in average temperatures and the size of the polystyrene melting area for various insulation variants with the introduced horizontal MW partitions. The introduction of MW partitions shows no significant benefits or improvement of fire safety of the investigated ETICS.

Keywords: external thermal insulation system (ETICS); expanded polystyrene (EPS); mineral wool (MW); fire performance; fire safety; large-scale fire test (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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