With over 50 years experience in the thermal insulation market, the A. Proctor Group has seen evolving energy performance and reduction in CO2 emissions driven by the government placing increasingly higher demands on the insulation performance of the building envelope. This experience has allowed us to develop a range of solutions and services to assist the construction industry in meeting these demands by considering the full range of factors influencing energy performance, from U-values and heat loss rates, to airtightness and cold bridging.
We offer a large range of thermal solutions including Thermal Laminates for roofs, walls and floors, Foam Fabrication, Tapered Roofing and Multi-foil insulation. We have also developed Spacetherm®, a thin aerogel insulation, commonly used for solid wall applications.
Aerogel Explained
Aerogel is the world’s lightest solid material; in its raw form its composition is over 90% air.
A highly effective insulator, it has the lowest thermal conductivity of any solid known to man, and has broken over 15 world records. Aerogel was first created by scientist Samuel Stephens Kistler in 1931, the result of a bet with a colleague over who could replace the liquid in “jellies” with gas without causing shrinkage.
It has been used in thousands of applications since its invention, for example NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration discovered that in its raw form, aerogel was capable of collecting stardust from space.
The history of aerogel is pretty fascinating, but what’s amazing is how it is used in everyday life to solve real problems for people everywhere.
The name ‘aerogel can be misleading however, as it is in fact, a dry, rigid solid. The name stems from the fact that aerogel is derived from a wet gel, the liquid component having been replaced by a gas in most cases.
The result of this process is a solid with extremely low density, and crucially, very low thermal conductivity. The conductive insulation properties of aerogel are unrivalled.
The A. Proctor Group Ltd. Group’s Spacetherm® Aerogel combines a silica aerogel with fibres to produce a flexible blanket solution.
We have a range of Spacetherm® Solutions for retrofit and new builds.
Does Cold Bridging Matter?
Whether we call it thermal bridging, cold bridging the result is the same potential cold areas in buildings where heat leaks out easier than other well insulated areas.
If it is only localised, do we need to worry if we have the rest of the building well insulated? Unfortunately, yes, not only will the building lose heat but the bridge could lead to condensation and even mould on the inside surface. Even window reveals have shown that not insulating the reveal can have dramatic effect eg a study showed that using 140mm of insulation on the walls only and not the reveals could be compensated by only 60mm insulation in the walls with the reveals insulated.
It is not just reveals that need to addressed. As buildings become increasingly more energy efficient the smaller cold bridges are highlighted even more, we are all becoming aware of the effects of airtightness and we treat that appropriately but we need to be addressing the cold bridges to have a more holistic thermal performance.
Products
Spacetherm® A1
Spacetherm® – Ultra Thin Aerogel Insulation for Retrofit & Newbuild
Spacetherm Window Reveal Board
Spacetherm Cold Bridge Strip
Spacetherm Wallboard
Spacetherm Directfix
Spacetherm Multi
Wraptherm®
Spacetherm Wall Liner
Recent Projects
Spacetherm WL – Paris
Spacetherm® WL – London SE22
Spacetherm WL – SE London
Spacetherm WL – London
Spacetherm Wall Board – Historic Building
Spacetherm® Multi – Bath
Spacetherm® London
