Jun. 30, 2025
How much do they cost, what is the best way to install them, and where are they the cheapest? A short introductory guide to thermal insulation sandwich panels.
Link to KUKU PANEL
A sandwich panel is a product used to clad the walls and roofs of buildings. Each panel comprises a core of thermoinsulating material, skinned on both sides with sheet metal. Sandwich panels are not structural materials but curtain materials. The structural forces are carried by the steel framework or other carrier frame to which the sandwich panels are attached.
The types of sandwich panel are generally grouped by the thermoinsulating material used as the core. Sandwich panels with cores of EPS (expanded polystyrene), mineral wool and polyurethane (PIR, or polyisocyanurate) are all readily available.
The materials mainly vary in their thermal insulating performance, sound insulating performance, reaction to fire and weight.
Sandwich panels are widely acclaimed due to a number of benefits, mainly those related to cost. Comparisons between frame or stud partition technology (frames lined with sandwich panels) and traditional building technologies based on masonry walls reveal advantages of sandwich panels in three key areas:
Construction of a building in either technology requires similar capital expenditure levels.
The comparison in this area includes the costs of construction materials, labour and shipping.
A building based on a traditional masonry process may take 6 to 7 months to complete.
A building of the same volume utilising stud partitions takes just 1 month to complete.
The construction time is business-critical. The sooner a production building or warehouse is commissioned for use, the sooner a return on the investment can be achieved.
Stud partition buildings are assembled rather than “built”. The finished structural parts and cladding components arrive on site, and are then assembled like a house of toy bricks. Another plus is that there is no need to wait for the building shell to lose excess moisture.
In some sectors of industry, the construction requirements can be critical for a building project. Stud partition construction is a ‘dry process’, with no water needed for the construction materials. A dry process requires only the assembly of the structure and fixing of the cladding (here, the sandwich panels) with screws.
Traditional masonry construction uses ‘wet processes’, which require significant amounts of water to make the mortar for bricklaying, concrete for casting or the plaster for rendering.
Some sectors of industry, like wood processing or pharmaceutical manufacture, require fixed and controlled relative humidity levels, which preclude wet construction processes.
The cost of purchase depends on the overall product thickness and its thermoinsulating core material. A ‘budget option’ is the use of EPS-core sandwich panels; however, for better long-term performance and cost effectiveness, panels with superior thermal conductivity coefficient are a better choice - such as PIR-core sandwich panels.
The pricing begins at 55–60 PLN/m2 for thin EPS-core sandwich panels. The most popular PIR-core sandwich panels are 100 mm thick, and cost about 80–90 PLN/m2.
Customers often ask about the VAT rate for sandwich panels. In Poland, all construction materials, including sandwich panels, have a 23% VAT rate.
It is best to order your sandwich panels directly from the manufacturer or through their distribution chain. You can request Balex Metal's regional sales representatives to visit your site for professional advice concerning the best processes and materials. Having examined your requirements, the sales representative can quickly supply you with a custom quote. Customer care by the sales representatives aside, you can get support from Balex Metal's design engineers or technical consultants at every stage of project delivery.
Sandwich panels are easy and quick to install. From practical experience, installing 600 m2 of sandwich panels takes approximately 8 hours for a proficient construction crew.
The steps to install wall and roof sandwich panels are as follows:
1. The construction materials are delivered to the site: the delivery includes sandwich panels, the subframe components (cold-formed shapes), and accessories (including flashing, fasteners, gaskets, seals, etc.). Balex Metal can provide all the components required to complete the installation process.
2. The materials delivered by the carrier are unloaded with construction handling equipment.
3. The subframes are assembled, and installed with beams, posts and purlins.
4. The protective film is removed from the sandwich panels.
5. The sandwich panels are fastened to the subframe structural members using suitable fasteners.
6. The joints between the sandwich panels are sealed and the flashing is installed.
How many screws do I need to fasten a sandwich panel? This is the most common question from customers at the project preparation stage. A rough estimate is 1.1 fasteners per square metre of sandwich panels. The actual number, spacing and layout depend on the decision of the project design engineer and/or the construction material supplier.
Learn more about installing sandwich panels:
Any type of sandwich panel will do as cladding for walls and roofs. Depending on the project needs, the cladding may include:
Sandwich panels can be utilised in all structure types. Your imagination is the limit. However, while sandwich panels are generally used in industrial applications, some housing projects also use stud partitions and sandwich panels.
Given the short installation time and large unit coverage, sandwich panels are most popular in constructing:
If you want to learn more, please visit our website pu sandwich panel.
A sandwich panel is a structure made of three layers:
Sandwich panels are used in applications where a combination of high structural rigidity and low weight is required. The following is the list of the applications whereby sandwich panel is used:
PU Sandwich Panel:
Polyurethane rigid foam is the core in these kinds of panels. A special feature of polyurethanes is their method of production. Generally, metering and mixing four or more streams of liquid components containing polyurethane precursors at the processing stage produce polyurethanes. Thus, the final, high molecular weight polymer is normally manufactured by the manufacture of Sandwich Panel who has a PU sandwich panel production line. In the production line of sandwich panel, one section is dedicated to performing this process, called “PU Foaming Machine” or “Metering Machine”.
Polyurethane has been used as a considerably suitable thermal insulator since . Holding very high insulator properties, Polyurethanes result in energy-saving and consequently related charges up to %60. Since the use of fossil fuels gives birth to about %80 of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2), therefore, use of polyurethane can be a suitable method for reducing energy consumption and, as a result, reduced CO2 gas as one of the most principal causes of global warming. Moreover, polyurethane insulator while holding higher efficiency in thermal insulation, it is considered lightweight and cost-effective compared to other thermal and cold insulators.
There might be questions about resistibility against fire; which is explained by the fire resistance rate. The fire-resistance rating means the duration for which a passive fire protection system can withstand a standard fire resistance test.
Tests according to DIN -1, fire behavior of building materials and building components. Classification of building materials according to EN -1:
– A1 Class: without organic content,
– A2 Class: with organic content
– B1 Class : Flame Retardant
– B2 Class: Normal Flammability (self–extinguishing)
– B3 Class: Easily Flammable (not usable in Industrial Buildings)
In most countries, the PU of the Sandwich panel must pass the classification of B2. The purpose of the test according to DIN -1: -05 section 6.1 is the classification of building materials (except floor coverings) on the basis of their fire behavior. The classification of polyurethane foam in a polyurethane sandwich panel is determined by the raw material used in the foaming machine when manufacturing rigid PU foam.
A sandwich panel with polyurethane typically consists of two sheets. The sheets could be PPGI (pre-painted galvanized iron, also known as pre-coated steel, coil coated steel, color coated steel coated by a hot dip zinc substrate), PPGL (pre-painted Galvalume iron, coated by a hot dip zinc substrate), Aluminum sheets, and paper foils. The sheets are formed or in other words grooved as required by The Roll Forming Machine.
There are two production lines for manufacturing PU sandwich panels:
Manufacturing sandwich panel methods are mentioned above whereby machinery for manufacturing sandwich panels has significant differences.
In the continuous PU Sandwich Panel Line, the speed of production is almost 10 times more than the discontinuous PU Sandwich Panel Line. Furthermore, manpower required would be significantly reduced when using continuous PU Sandwich Panel machinery. In the Continuous Sandwich Panel, Line Rock wool sandwich panel can also be manufactured by extending the equipment.
PU Sandwich Panel Sizes and Types:
There are different types of PU sandwich which can be manufactured with both continuous and discontinues sandwich panel line:
The two factors which determine the sandwich panel weight are:
The length of the sandwich panel produced by continuous sandwich panel production depends on the usage requirements which could be a minimum of 0.5 meters to 22-meter long. Yet, sandwich panels are normally produced less than 12 meters for easier transportation and avoiding over-length cargo.
The two main factors which determine the sandwich panel prices:
Therefore, the price of the sandwich panel will be different with every single specification and request. There is of course one more factor in sandwich panel prices; the country in which sandwich panel is produced. The raw material of sandwich panel could be available in some countries, so sandwich panel manufacturer can easily access the raw material, and sandwich panel might be lower in those countries whereas in some countries raw material for sandwich panel production might be imported (associated import cost to be added) and locally not available. As a result, the sandwich panel price will be higher.
Thermal Insulation of PU Sandwich Panel:
Thermal Transmittance or K-value is the rate of transfer of heat through a structure (which can be a single material or a composite), divided by the difference in temperature across that structure. The units of measurement are W/m²K. The K-value is determined by the thickness of the sandwich panel.
The below chart shows an example of approx. weight and K-value of the sandwich panel where 40 ± 2 (kg/m³) density of sandwich panel is considered consistent and PPGI for both sides of PU foam is 0.5 mm.
The thickness of the Sandwich panel line (mm) 40 50 60 80 100 120 150 200 Weight of Sandwich Panel (kg/m2) 10.1 10.6 11 11.9 12.8 13,4 14.7 16,8 Thermal Transmission K-Value of Sandwich Panel (w/m2 K) 0.52 0.43 0.35 0.27 0.21 0.18 0.14 0.11Comparing 30 mm PU Sandwich Panel with Other Materials in Equivalent:
Following is the List of Advantages of Sandwich Panels:
For more information, please visit rockwool sandwich panel.
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