How does facade cladding behave during a fire? The caloric value of building materials is an important measurement tool to see how it reacts to fire. Compare these calorific values of the most commonly used solutions for facade cladding and find out what this means for the fire safety of your building.
Calorific value is the amount of energy that is produced by the complete combustion of a material. This amount of energy determines how much heat a certain material contributes to a fire. More heat simply means a faster spreading of the fire. The calorific content of a panel is indicated by its PCS (abbreviation of the French term ‘Pouvoir Calorifique Supérieur’) value. The higher a PCS value is, the more calorific content a panel has. Non-combustible facade material (Euroclass A1 & A2) has a very low calorific value and thus a very low contribution to the fire. The classification of these non-combustible materials has an upper limit on the PCS values.
In general, the lower the calorific value of a product, the better it is when it comes to fire safety. But what does this imply? When it comes to PCS value, two panels distinct themselves: fibre cement and stone wool (Rockpanel). They both have a very low caloric content. Stone wool, for example, is made from natural volcanic rock basalt, which can withstand extremely high temperatures by nature.
What we also see when comparing the PCS values of different materials is that some materials come in two versions: a standard version and an FR version (for example some HPL’s or ACM’s). The FR version has a similar PCS value, so a similar energy content as the standard version. These products all use fire retardants to achieve a higher classification. These fire retardants indeed slow down the ignition and burning of the product, nevertheless they are consumed during a fire and by this these products release their energy content in a later moment during a fire.
Are you an architect or contractor and would you like to get an in-depth presentation about fire safety in relation to facade cladding? We’d be happy to come to your office for a free, informative Lunch & Learn CPD session about this topic.
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Rockpanel board material is not only fire safe but also holds many more unique properties for your project.
We manufacture board material mostly used in ventilated constructions, for facade cladding, roof detailing, soffits and fascias.
