For over a century plasterboard and fibre cement have
been foundations of the building and construction
industry, utilised for everything from ceilings and
flooring to cladding and decking.
And while the versatility and ease of use of these products
is clear, evolving expectations within the building and
design industry as well as the broader community have
increased the need for alternative solutions.
The greatest challenge facing the industry today
is in reducing the carbon footprint of the building
environment, and the expectation that each facet of
construction, from material manufacture through to
ongoing performance prioritises eco-friendly building.
While prioritising eco-friendly building it is also
crucial that performance is not compromised, and
that strength, safety and durability remain key
characteristics.
UBIQ developed INEX>BOARDS™ with the aim of
providing the building and construction industry
a range of high performance building sheets that
improve the carbon footprint, increase safety, and
offer a unique alternative to traditional plasterboard
and fibre cement sheets.
This paper looks at the performance of
INEX>BOARDS™ in the key fields of sustainability
and fire resistance.
Sustainability
The residential and commercial building sector
is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse
emissions in the Australia, producing 23 per cent of all
greenhouse emissions across the country1. Embodied
energy is a significant component of this.
Embodied energy is the total energy required for the
extraction, processing, manufacture and delivery of
building materials2, and plays a large part in a building
material's overall environmental impact. Generally,
the more highly processed a material is the higher its
embodied energy and the larger its carbon footprint.
The most common and accurate measurement of
embodied energy is the process energy requirement
(PER), which usually accounts for 50-80 per cent of
the total embodied energy requirement.
The following is the embodied energy for some of
the most common building materials:
- MDF (medium-density fibreboard): 11.3 MJ/kg
- Cement: 5.6 MJ/kg
- Fibre cement: 4.8 MJ/kg
- Plasterboard: 4.4 MJ/kg
- INEX>BOARDS™: 1.92 MJ/kg*
*The embodied energy of INEX>BOARDS is on average
40 per cent that of comparable fibre cement boards.
As we can see from these figures, the use of
INEX>BOARDS™ represents an enormous reduction
in the carbon footprint compared with traditional
building materials, helping to contribute to eco-friendly
construction and a sustainable future.
Fire resistance and protection
Australia is subject to some of the most harsh and
varied weather conditions in the world, and as such, the
built environment must be prepared for the unexpected.
The shortcomings of many of the building methods
and materials traditionally used were exposed
during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria,
in which over 2000 properties were destroyed3.
This need for improved fire resistance of building
materials was reflected in the significant changes
made to the Australian Standards for construction
of building in bushfire-prone areas (AS3959)
immediately following the tragedy4.
The most significant change to the standards was
for the requirement of all proposed buildings to
undergo a BAL (Bushfire Attack Level) assessment,
with six different levels of classification dependent
on the threat level of fire to the buildings location.
The highest level is BAL-FZ (fire zone), which constitutes
possibility of direct exposure to flames from fire front in
addition to heat flux and ember attack.
In addition to the Bushfire Attack Level, a Fire
Resistance Level (FRL) is given to building
components to represent resistance to a fully
developed fire, while still performing its structural
function. The highest level is represented as FRL
60/60/60 which indicates 60 minutes to elapse before
collapse/60 minutes that flames will not pass through
the component/60 minutes insulation from flames.5
INEX>BOARDS™
UBIQ INEX>BOARDS™ are rated to BAL-FZ and
FRL 60/60/60 - tested at the laboratories of Exova
Warrigntonfire, a world-leader in fire safety and fire
resistance testing. This ensures a board that provides
the highest possible fire-safety on the market.
In addition to reducing the carbon footprint and
increased fire resistance, INEX>BOARDS™ are
exceptionally strong and durable in all weather
conditions, and with exceptional acoustic
performance they provide a high-performing
alternative to traditional building sheets.
INEX>BOARDS™ range includes:
- INEX>FLOOR™
- INEX>DECKING™
- INEX>MAXIDECK™
- INEX>WEATHERBOARD™
- INEX>RENDERBOARD™
- INEX>WALLBOARD™
REFERENCES
1 Building a sustainable future, Green Building Council Australia, 2013
http://www.gbca.org.au/uploads/203/3787/Carbon%20Paper_LR.pdf
2 YourHome - Embodied energy, Australian Government, 2013
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/sites/prod.yourhome.gov.au/files/pdf/YOURHOME-3-Materials-1-EmbodiedEnergy-(4Dec13).pdf
3 The Australian �Black Saturday� Bushfires of 2009, Encyclopedia Britannica, November 23 2009
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2009/11/the-australian-%E2%80%9Cblack-saturday%E2%80%9D-bushfires-of-2009/
4 Australian Standard 3959-2009 Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas, March 6 2009
https://law.resource.org/pub/au/ibr/as.3959.2009.pdf
5 Fire Resistance Requirements in Australia, and how to choose the right EWPAA Certified Product to Comply with the BCA, EWPAA
http://www.ewp.asn.au/library/downloads/ewpaa_fire_resistance.pdf
