January 2024

Knauf Insulation Tech Talk
SUPPORTING THE SAFE
SPECIFICATION OF INSULATION
The Building Safety Act is shining a spotlight on product choice. So, this month,
Bradley Hirst, Technical Services Manager at Knauf Insulation, answers questions
about what documentation you need to verify test data for insulation.
How can you compare different insulation
products?
Construction products that are covered by a
harmonised and designated standard,
such as insulation, must be either UKCA or
CE Marked before being placed on the market
to allow ‘sale of goods comparison’. Both
CE and UKCA Marks are functionally
identical and are valid in the UK. They are
used to indicate that the performance of the
product has been assessed and remains
constant. Knauf Insulation applies the CE
Mark to the products it
manufactures.
Manufacturers must also draw
up a Declaration of Performance
(DOP). This lists information about
the product, including key performance data. The
information on the DOP is a reliable source of
information, but remember, CE Marking and the
DOP do not confirm fitness for purpose in a
particular application – this must be assessed
by the designer for the project being considered.
For insulation, data like thermal performance for
thermal insulation is mandatory, but other
information, such as compressive strength, that
is not required for every application is optional. If
the performance is not declared it will be listed as
NPD (No Performance Determined).
DOPs for most products can be found on the
manufacturer’s website and can be used to
compare the characteristics and performance of
products made from different materials and by
different manufacturers.
Do I need a copy of the Euroclass reaction
to fire certificate?
No. A test certificate demonstrates that a sample
product from a specific manufacturing run
achieved a specific rating. It can’t be extrapolated
to products that have been
manufactured at a different date or
time.
Instead, to demonstrate that all
products that fall within specific
manufacturing tolerances will achieve a
designated Euroclass reaction to fire
classification, manufacturers are awarded a
Certificate of Consistency of Performance
(COCOP). The COCOP allows manufacturers to
declare the Euroclass reaction to fire
classification for each product on the DOP.
Can I have the fire resistance test data?
Again, no. Test results can be difficult to interpret.
So manufacturers use ‘direct field of application’
reports or assessments to turn the results into
meaningful data for contractors and installers.
‘Direct field of application’ rules allow
manufacturers to make minor
assumptions to increase the scope of
the test data. For example, applying
results to the same product in another
thickness or in a build-up that is ‘better’
than the one tested. The Association for
Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) recommends
that the Passive Fire Protection Forum (PFPF)
Guide for Assessments be followed in lieu of Fire
Resistance Tests, when applying ‘Direct field of
application’ rules.
Reports are assessed by independent third
Bradley Hirst, Technical Services Manager, Knauf Insulation.
“Manufacturers use
‘direct field of
application’ reports or
assessments to turn
the results into
meaningful data for
contractors and
installers”
parties who use ‘expert judgement’ to determine
the performance of products or systems in
relation to the regulations.
Do I need an Agrément Certificate?
That depends. For certain applications,
such as masonry cavity walls,
Agrément Certificates are required by
the Approved Document for full or partial
fill insulating materials to satisfy the Building
Regulations. But for others, such as rainscreen
façade systems, they are desirable because of
the application’s complexity.
Contact Knauf Insulation
www.knaufinsulation.co.uk
Knauf Insulation UK & Ireland
38 TC JANUARY 2024