ISO-Chemie tape seals residential heat energy

Heat energy is lost from buildings through their roofs, windows, walls, floors and through gaps around windows and doors.

ISO-Chemie believes it has come up with a solution, introducing its advanced window sealing tape at a new 'eco-designed' residential development in Yorkshire.

BLOCO ONE foam tape is being supplied to support the installation of windows being fitted at the new Aire Lofts residential scheme in Leeds, providing long-term protection against wind-blown rain ingress as well as an effective acoustic and thermal seal.

The apartments, which are being built as part of the city’s Climate Innovation District, are surrounded by green space and feature dual aspect designs and south facing Juliet balconies as part of the room design. Exposed concrete floors, feature ply walls and exposed steel ceilings also contribute to the feeling of space and a contemporary timelessness.

The self-adhesive BLOCO ONE, which uses so called ‘smart’ foam technology impregnated with different substances to create a measurable U-Value as low as 0.6w/m2k, offers high performance thermal insulation and can contribute to acoustic sound reduction by 63dB.

Moreover, it enables specifiers and installers to seal windows from inside the building and avoid the need to use time consuming and costly scaffolding and ladders among other external access systems.

Specified to meet stringent project sealing and quality requirements, the foam sealant tape is part of an energy efficient window package for the apartments, which have been designed and built by Leeds-based developers CITU.

The use of ‘smart’ foams impregnated with different substances to create a measurable U-Value as low as 0.6w/m2k, offer enhanced thermal insulation and can contribute to acoustic sound reduction by 63dB.

As these installation tapes are completely weather tight against driving rain up to hurricane force wind speeds, installers can quickly apply them around the frame during initial fitting. This provides the assurance that they have completed a comprehensive ‘A’ rated installation rather than just supplying an ‘A’ rated window.

ISO Chemie’s Vario SD Complete humidity variable foil will also feature at Aire Lofts to provide rapid and effective year-round high-performance sealing of the window connecting joints. 

This foil is located in place and repositioned, if necessary, after initial application before the full strength of the adhesive develops and takes effect. The risk of leaks from poor or patchy adhesive application can be avoided while the foil can be plastered over immediately after installation, providing further time saving benefits.

Nick Thompson, technical adviser at ISO-Chemie, said: “As new building regulations come into effect this year, developers are increasingly requiring smarter ways to deliver their construction and building projects which use sustainable technologies. Our tapes support this, delivering measurable airtight, acoustic and thermal sealing properties.”

The tapes offer a single product ‘fit and forget’ solution for fast and effective sealing based around the European RAL principles of three level sealing; the inside seal area is more airtight than the external one, allowing any trapped moisture inside the joint, or within the wall, to escape outwards rather than into the building.

Within the European Union, 70% of energy consumption relates to heating, according to McKinsey. Two factors are important: the energy efficiency of the building (thermal insulation and heating-control systems) and the energy source used for heating (for example, using renewable electricity to drive heat pumps versus gas boilers).

"There are many cost-effective approaches to emissions abatement, with insulation and a move to solar thermal the most cost-effective," it states.

"Switching to renewable technologies in heating accounts for 72% of emissions reductions, supporting the pathway to net-zero both for the building sector and for the European Union more broadly."