cuhnie
2013-04-20 14:25:06
- #1
I recently read the following article
It all sounds very dramatic and raises the question of whether one should use an ETICS with Styrodur insulation.
Fire hazard, mold, hazardous waste. The hazard list of the most commonly used material Styrofoam is long. Property owners warn.
Hamburg. Simon Seider hangs at a dizzying height on a rope. With a saw, he works on the facade of a residential block. A woodpecker has pecked a hole about ten centimeters in size into the thermal insulation. The 25-year-old, from the company Ropeworx, stuffs mineral wool inside, then places a block of Styrofoam in front of it, glues a clinker brick slip on it with silicone, and fills in joint adhesive. The facade is closed again.
“We receive 300 to 400 orders per year to fill woodpecker holes,” says Ropeworx managing director Torsten Nitzsche. Eight years ago, his winter painter company received its first order. At first, it was an additional business, but by now it accounts for a considerable part of his turnover. “If there are damages to thermal insulation composite systems, that’s when we come into play.” Nitzsche’s company is likely to remain in demand. Because insulation is in fashion.
The environment is to be protected, energy saved. That is politically desired. After all, buildings consume 40 percent of the total energy in the country for heating, hot water, and lighting and emit almost 20 percent of the total carbon dioxide (CO2). “That savings can and must be made here is obvious,” says the federal government. Because many houses are insufficiently insulated, up to 80 percent of the energy demand could be saved. “People have a right that the housing stock is energetically renovated, and the environment even more so,” says Hartmut Schönell, managing board member of the industrial association for rigid foam.
But is insulation worthwhile? The Abendblatt spoke with experts. Conclusion: The savings potential is overestimated. The renovation is expensive and is not economically viable for many owners. And above all: there are massive risks such as fire hazard, mold formation – and in a few years a disposal problem.
Heinrich Stüven is chairman of the Hamburg property owners’ association. He has no objection to the goal of saving energy. But he does to the currently applied methods of insulation. “We have endless problems here,” says Stüven. Nearly 80 percent of Germans rely on polystyrene, better known as Styrofoam, because it is the cheapest solution. In the future, however, high follow-up costs threaten because the service life is limited and the material will have to be replaced. “If we put Styrofoam on houses, we will have to dispose of it as absolute hazardous waste in no more than 20 years,” says Stüven. The reason: “Polystyrene is foamed with fire retardants that are highly toxic.” The Hamburg head of the Architects’ Association, Volker Halbach, also warns: “Ultimately we insulate with a non-degradable material similar to plastic. In no more than 30 to 50 years, we will have to dispose of this material as hazardous waste.” The situation is paradoxical: “We buy environmentally conscious clothing, fruit and vegetables at the organic market, and in the future live in houses with plastic clothes.”
In insulated houses, the indoor and outdoor air is often almost hermetically sealed off. The unpleasant consequence: water vapor, which is released when breathing, cooking, and showering, stays in the house, mold can form. To prevent this, expensive ventilation systems are now installed. Danger also arises from small cracks or gaps in the wall – such as woodpecker holes. Water can penetrate, mold formation threatens. While Halbach wishes for a rethink towards natural materials like mineral wool, Stüven calls for more money for research to develop new materials: “We simply don’t know what is happening behind the facade.”
The Frankfurt fire department had to experience this in May 2012. They were called to a small fire at a construction site. Five minutes later, the freshly plastered facade of the high-rise was on fire. The heat was brutal, says fire chief Reinhard Ries. In general, polystyrene can be extinguished with water or a foam-water mixture, but the fire department must get to the source of the fire – which was sealed. “When the fire is inside the facade, it rises through the Styrofoam panels like in a shaft, the panels act like a fire accelerator,” says Ries. Within 300 seconds, 24 apartments were burning. Ries: “If the house had been occupied, there probably would have been casualties.” Although the approval authority classifies the insulation system as hardly flammable, once polystyrene ignites, “it burns like gasoline.” Fire barriers made of mineral wool are supposed to prevent this – they did not help in Frankfurt. Ries: “The flames jumped over them in a very short time.”
Another problem is the discharge of toxins into bodies of water. Since the insulated facade quickly becomes the coolest point of the surroundings, it becomes damp at night. Mold and algae can form. To prevent this, the outer coating is done with paints or plasters that contain biocides. For the substances to work, they must be water soluble – and thus become a target for rain. “The pesticides are washed out within five years,” says Stüven. A study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Water Protection supports his thesis. The institute found residues of poisons from the facade in streams and rivers in Switzerland. The German Environment Agency then started its own research projects last year. Because some biocides have been banned for environmental protection in agriculture for 15 years. One of these poisons is Terbutryn, which can cause diarrhea, respiratory problems, and central nervous system disorders. Coating preservatives like paints and wall protection agents are now being evaluated in the EU. This review alone had consequences: two-thirds of the products with these active ingredients have not been on the market since the beginning of the year. Either companies waived registration, or the substances were banned. Stüven is also annoyed that it has never been investigated “how much energy is required to produce Styrofoam and, in return, saved through house insulation.”
The insulation industry rejects the accusations. Wolfgang Setzler, managing director of the trade association for thermal insulation composite systems, says: “Today’s systems can be fed into the recycling system tomorrow and do not necessarily have to be disposed of as hazardous waste.” Hartmut Schönell of the rigid foam industry association emphasizes that properly installed thermal insulation composite systems are hardly flammable, while wooden houses or roofs are considered normally flammable. Algae form on insulated facades no more frequently than on other facades. In addition, he is “not aware that fungicides and pesticides from insulated facades occur more frequently in groundwater than through house facade paints without insulation – unfortunately.”
Despite the discussions about mold, fire hazard, and environmental damage – the federal government declares the energetic building renovation the “heart” of measures to save energy. The CO2 building renovation program is worth 1.5 billion euros annually to it from 2012 to 2014. Through the state bank Kfw, it grants subsidies of 7.5 percent of eligible costs or loans up to 50,000 euros at an effective annual interest rate of one percent. The costs, however, are often higher for homeowner-occupiers, says Eva Reinhold-Postina from the Association of Private Builders (Verband Privater Bauherren): “An unrenovated single-family house with single-glazed windows that is to be insulated costs at least 70,000 euros.” For a multi-family house, a square meter of insulation with ten to twelve centimeter thick Styrofoam panels costs 100 to 120 euros. If clinker brick slips are placed in front, 160 to 180 euros are due. Insulation with mineral wool is between 120 and 150 euros.
It is a lucrative market. According to the building report by the German Energy Agency, 70 percent of German residential buildings were built before the end of the 1970s. Simply put, they are considered poorly insulated because only then did the first thermal protection ordinance come into force that reduced energy consumption through constructional measures. In Hamburg, the rate is even higher at 84.4 percent. In 2010, there were 757,000 apartments in the Hanseatic city, according to the microcensus. In the same year, Germans spent 16.2 billion euros on insulating the building envelope. Revenues in this segment will almost double by 2020, a study by the consulting firm Roland Berger showed (see graphic). In the past three years, the Hamburg Mortgage Credit Institute funded thermal protection measures for 9,986 rental and 11,640 owner-occupied apartments in the city area.
But does this lower energy costs? “One kilogram of polystyrene on the facade saves more than 200 liters of heating oil in fifty years,” says Hartmut Schönell, head of the rigid foam association. The energy bill is complicated, however, because it is oriented to energy demand. Habits of residents and the location of the building are not taken into account. “Therefore, energy demand is overestimated; energy consumption is half as much,” says Professor Harald Simons, head of the Berlin research institute Empirica. After all, most houses are not, contrary to the calculated energy demand, heated around the clock to 19 or 20 degrees Celsius, but often only individual rooms for a few hours a day. According to the German Tenants’ Association’s utility cost overview, tenants paid an average of 1.09 euros per square meter for heating and hot water. If energetic renovation reduces costs by 60 percent, savings would be 117.72 euros per square meter over 15 years. Simons: “A complete renovation, however, costs a multiple.” In addition, the condition of single- and two-family houses built up to 1978 in Germany is better than its reputation. His institute found that 81 percent of heating systems are highly or very highly efficient, 96 percent of all windows are at least double-glazed, and 69 percent of houses are insulated to the roof or the upper ceiling. “There is no question of a renovation backlog,” says Simons. The Association of Private Builders recommends only pursuing energetic renovation if one is forced to act. “It pays off if something is broken or if you undertake a long-term, large-scale conversion,” says Association of Private Builders spokesperson Eva Reinhold-Postina. Often the installation of a more efficient heating system, new windows, or roof insulation is enough to reduce energy costs, say the Association of Private Builders and the property owners’ association. Stüven gives owners a clear recommendation: “Keep your hands off the facade exterior insulation.”
Source: Abendblatt
It all sounds very dramatic and raises the question of whether one should use an ETICS with Styrodur insulation.
Fire hazard, mold, hazardous waste. The hazard list of the most commonly used material Styrofoam is long. Property owners warn.
Hamburg. Simon Seider hangs at a dizzying height on a rope. With a saw, he works on the facade of a residential block. A woodpecker has pecked a hole about ten centimeters in size into the thermal insulation. The 25-year-old, from the company Ropeworx, stuffs mineral wool inside, then places a block of Styrofoam in front of it, glues a clinker brick slip on it with silicone, and fills in joint adhesive. The facade is closed again.
“We receive 300 to 400 orders per year to fill woodpecker holes,” says Ropeworx managing director Torsten Nitzsche. Eight years ago, his winter painter company received its first order. At first, it was an additional business, but by now it accounts for a considerable part of his turnover. “If there are damages to thermal insulation composite systems, that’s when we come into play.” Nitzsche’s company is likely to remain in demand. Because insulation is in fashion.
The environment is to be protected, energy saved. That is politically desired. After all, buildings consume 40 percent of the total energy in the country for heating, hot water, and lighting and emit almost 20 percent of the total carbon dioxide (CO2). “That savings can and must be made here is obvious,” says the federal government. Because many houses are insufficiently insulated, up to 80 percent of the energy demand could be saved. “People have a right that the housing stock is energetically renovated, and the environment even more so,” says Hartmut Schönell, managing board member of the industrial association for rigid foam.
But is insulation worthwhile? The Abendblatt spoke with experts. Conclusion: The savings potential is overestimated. The renovation is expensive and is not economically viable for many owners. And above all: there are massive risks such as fire hazard, mold formation – and in a few years a disposal problem.
Heinrich Stüven is chairman of the Hamburg property owners’ association. He has no objection to the goal of saving energy. But he does to the currently applied methods of insulation. “We have endless problems here,” says Stüven. Nearly 80 percent of Germans rely on polystyrene, better known as Styrofoam, because it is the cheapest solution. In the future, however, high follow-up costs threaten because the service life is limited and the material will have to be replaced. “If we put Styrofoam on houses, we will have to dispose of it as absolute hazardous waste in no more than 20 years,” says Stüven. The reason: “Polystyrene is foamed with fire retardants that are highly toxic.” The Hamburg head of the Architects’ Association, Volker Halbach, also warns: “Ultimately we insulate with a non-degradable material similar to plastic. In no more than 30 to 50 years, we will have to dispose of this material as hazardous waste.” The situation is paradoxical: “We buy environmentally conscious clothing, fruit and vegetables at the organic market, and in the future live in houses with plastic clothes.”
In insulated houses, the indoor and outdoor air is often almost hermetically sealed off. The unpleasant consequence: water vapor, which is released when breathing, cooking, and showering, stays in the house, mold can form. To prevent this, expensive ventilation systems are now installed. Danger also arises from small cracks or gaps in the wall – such as woodpecker holes. Water can penetrate, mold formation threatens. While Halbach wishes for a rethink towards natural materials like mineral wool, Stüven calls for more money for research to develop new materials: “We simply don’t know what is happening behind the facade.”
The Frankfurt fire department had to experience this in May 2012. They were called to a small fire at a construction site. Five minutes later, the freshly plastered facade of the high-rise was on fire. The heat was brutal, says fire chief Reinhard Ries. In general, polystyrene can be extinguished with water or a foam-water mixture, but the fire department must get to the source of the fire – which was sealed. “When the fire is inside the facade, it rises through the Styrofoam panels like in a shaft, the panels act like a fire accelerator,” says Ries. Within 300 seconds, 24 apartments were burning. Ries: “If the house had been occupied, there probably would have been casualties.” Although the approval authority classifies the insulation system as hardly flammable, once polystyrene ignites, “it burns like gasoline.” Fire barriers made of mineral wool are supposed to prevent this – they did not help in Frankfurt. Ries: “The flames jumped over them in a very short time.”
Another problem is the discharge of toxins into bodies of water. Since the insulated facade quickly becomes the coolest point of the surroundings, it becomes damp at night. Mold and algae can form. To prevent this, the outer coating is done with paints or plasters that contain biocides. For the substances to work, they must be water soluble – and thus become a target for rain. “The pesticides are washed out within five years,” says Stüven. A study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Water Protection supports his thesis. The institute found residues of poisons from the facade in streams and rivers in Switzerland. The German Environment Agency then started its own research projects last year. Because some biocides have been banned for environmental protection in agriculture for 15 years. One of these poisons is Terbutryn, which can cause diarrhea, respiratory problems, and central nervous system disorders. Coating preservatives like paints and wall protection agents are now being evaluated in the EU. This review alone had consequences: two-thirds of the products with these active ingredients have not been on the market since the beginning of the year. Either companies waived registration, or the substances were banned. Stüven is also annoyed that it has never been investigated “how much energy is required to produce Styrofoam and, in return, saved through house insulation.”
The insulation industry rejects the accusations. Wolfgang Setzler, managing director of the trade association for thermal insulation composite systems, says: “Today’s systems can be fed into the recycling system tomorrow and do not necessarily have to be disposed of as hazardous waste.” Hartmut Schönell of the rigid foam industry association emphasizes that properly installed thermal insulation composite systems are hardly flammable, while wooden houses or roofs are considered normally flammable. Algae form on insulated facades no more frequently than on other facades. In addition, he is “not aware that fungicides and pesticides from insulated facades occur more frequently in groundwater than through house facade paints without insulation – unfortunately.”
Despite the discussions about mold, fire hazard, and environmental damage – the federal government declares the energetic building renovation the “heart” of measures to save energy. The CO2 building renovation program is worth 1.5 billion euros annually to it from 2012 to 2014. Through the state bank Kfw, it grants subsidies of 7.5 percent of eligible costs or loans up to 50,000 euros at an effective annual interest rate of one percent. The costs, however, are often higher for homeowner-occupiers, says Eva Reinhold-Postina from the Association of Private Builders (Verband Privater Bauherren): “An unrenovated single-family house with single-glazed windows that is to be insulated costs at least 70,000 euros.” For a multi-family house, a square meter of insulation with ten to twelve centimeter thick Styrofoam panels costs 100 to 120 euros. If clinker brick slips are placed in front, 160 to 180 euros are due. Insulation with mineral wool is between 120 and 150 euros.
It is a lucrative market. According to the building report by the German Energy Agency, 70 percent of German residential buildings were built before the end of the 1970s. Simply put, they are considered poorly insulated because only then did the first thermal protection ordinance come into force that reduced energy consumption through constructional measures. In Hamburg, the rate is even higher at 84.4 percent. In 2010, there were 757,000 apartments in the Hanseatic city, according to the microcensus. In the same year, Germans spent 16.2 billion euros on insulating the building envelope. Revenues in this segment will almost double by 2020, a study by the consulting firm Roland Berger showed (see graphic). In the past three years, the Hamburg Mortgage Credit Institute funded thermal protection measures for 9,986 rental and 11,640 owner-occupied apartments in the city area.
But does this lower energy costs? “One kilogram of polystyrene on the facade saves more than 200 liters of heating oil in fifty years,” says Hartmut Schönell, head of the rigid foam association. The energy bill is complicated, however, because it is oriented to energy demand. Habits of residents and the location of the building are not taken into account. “Therefore, energy demand is overestimated; energy consumption is half as much,” says Professor Harald Simons, head of the Berlin research institute Empirica. After all, most houses are not, contrary to the calculated energy demand, heated around the clock to 19 or 20 degrees Celsius, but often only individual rooms for a few hours a day. According to the German Tenants’ Association’s utility cost overview, tenants paid an average of 1.09 euros per square meter for heating and hot water. If energetic renovation reduces costs by 60 percent, savings would be 117.72 euros per square meter over 15 years. Simons: “A complete renovation, however, costs a multiple.” In addition, the condition of single- and two-family houses built up to 1978 in Germany is better than its reputation. His institute found that 81 percent of heating systems are highly or very highly efficient, 96 percent of all windows are at least double-glazed, and 69 percent of houses are insulated to the roof or the upper ceiling. “There is no question of a renovation backlog,” says Simons. The Association of Private Builders recommends only pursuing energetic renovation if one is forced to act. “It pays off if something is broken or if you undertake a long-term, large-scale conversion,” says Association of Private Builders spokesperson Eva Reinhold-Postina. Often the installation of a more efficient heating system, new windows, or roof insulation is enough to reduce energy costs, say the Association of Private Builders and the property owners’ association. Stüven gives owners a clear recommendation: “Keep your hands off the facade exterior insulation.”
Source: Abendblatt