INSULATION VALUES

TECHNICAL BULLETIN
Vol. 3, No. 1
JANUARY 2017
INSULATION VALUES

This is a thermal resistance guide for our insulated panels. This document is to serve as an explanation
of code compliance and how these values were determined.

Code Compliance

In North America, the most accepted energy efficiency standard for commercial construction is the
American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1.
The current edition is 2013. This standard provides both a prescriptive and a performance path to be
chosen at the designer’s discretion. The prescriptive path is most commonly used and also provides the
baseline performance level that is used to determine compliance for the performance path as well, so
understanding this set of requirements is critical. Within the prescriptive path, two possible methods of
compliance are available to determine the minimum thermal performance of opaque areas on the building
envelope. Section 5.5.3 is the pertinent passage and it reads:

5.5.3 Opaque Areas. For all opaque surfaces except doors, compliance shall be demonstrated by
one of the following two methods:

a. Minimum rated R-value of insulation for the thermal resistance of the added insulation in framing
cavities and continuous insulation only. Specifications listed in Normative Appendix A for each
class of construction shall be used to determine compliance.

b. Maximum U-factor, C-factor, or F-factor for the entire assembly. The values for typical construction
assemblies listed in Normative Appendix A shall be used to determine compliance.

Exceptions to Section 5.5.3:

1. For assemblies significantly different from those in Appendix A, calculations shall be performed in
accordance with the procedures required in Appendix A.

2. For multiple assemblies within a single class of construction for a single space-conditioning
category, compliance shall be shown for either (1) the most restrictive requirement or (2) an area-
weighted average U-factor, C-factor, or F-factor.

2
INSULATION VALUES

The definitions pertinent to this passage italicized above are:

Continuous insulation (c.i.): insulation that is continuous across all structural members without thermal
bridges other than fasteners and service openings. It is installed on the interior or exterior or is integral to
any opaque surface of the building envelope.

Rated R-value of insulation: the thermal resistance of the insulation alone as specified by the
manufacturer in units of hr·ft2·°F/BTU at a mean temperature of 75°F. Rated R-value refers to the thermal
resistance of the added insulation in framing cavities or insulated sheathing only and does not include the
thermal resistance of other building materials or air films.

U-factor (thermal transmittance): heat transmission in unit time through unit area of a material or
construction and the boundary air films, induced by unit temperature difference between the
environments on each side. Units of U are BTU/hr·ft2·°F.

So in effect, there are two possible ways to comply with the prescriptive requirements for a roof or wall
assembly:

A. Provide insulation with a Rated R-value that meets or exceeds the minimum R-value requirement
from the prescriptive tables 5.5-1 through 5.5-8, depending on climate zone.

B. Provide an assembly with a U-factor that meets or falls below the maximum U-factor requirement
from the prescriptive tables 5.5-1 through 5.5-8, depending on climate zone

Appendix A of 90.1 contains calculation and testing requirements for R-value and U-factor determination
as well as a dataset of U-factors that have been predetermined in accordance with the appendix for some
common assemblies. If the assembly being provided does not meet the descriptions of the common
assemblies in the appendix, then a thermal test or calculation method is the only way to determine
a U-factor. In fact, exception a. of 5.5.3 provides the user with a shortcut to that conclusion. Testing
requirements are given in Section A9.3 and calculation requirements are given in A9.4 of Appendix A.
Different levels of rigor are to be used when calculating U-factors depending on the type of assembly;
however, Section A9.2 does state that two-dimensional finite element methods are always allowed.

The definitions above in conjunction with the requirements of Appendix A then dictate that if Method A
is used, the R-value of the insulation must be determined by either ASTM C518 or ASTM C1363 with
a mean temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit and cannot include air film effects. Furthermore, the
assembly in question must meet the one of the descriptions in the Appendix.

3
INSULATION VALUES

Otherwise, Method B must be used and the U-factor of the assembly is to be determined by testing per
ASTM C1363 or finite element modeling. In either case, a representative sample section including panel
edges, joints and thermal bridges such as fasteners is considered and the air film allowance provided in
Section A.9.4.1 should be included as well.

Insulated panels are not an assembly type but instead are insulated sheathing that can be utilized on
various kinds of assemblies. Therefore, it is not entirely clear how they apply to ASHRAE requirements.
IMPs have thermally broken side joints and since the presence of fasteners alone does not violate
the requirements for continuous insulation, IMPs can be interpreted to meet that definition. However,
many designers do not agree with that interpretation and instead want to treat IMPs as an assembly
and therefore require U-values from the manufacturer since Method A would not apply in that instance.
Unfortunately, ‘thermal bridge’ is not defined in ASHRAE 90.1, so no guidance is provided by the standard
itself. Because of this ambiguity, it is not clear which method from Section 5.5.3 is to be used for IMPs.
Therefore, R-values determined by test and U-factors determined by calculation in accordance with
ASHRAE are presented in Table 2 below and it is left to the designer’s discretion which to use.

Insulated Metal Panel R-value and U-factors

The information is provided shows the results thermal modeling using the THERM V7 which was
calibrated and verified using ASTM C518 and ASTM C1363 testing. With the many different widths,
profiles and thicknesses it is not possible to test every possible variable for the products offered by
Metl-Span. The THERM software is widely used and was developed at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (LBNL) for heat-transfer analysis of the sometimes complicated geometries of real-world
building products.

4
INSULATION VALUES

Core R-value per

Nominal ASTM C518 42” Wide Panel
Mean Temp Core (hr·ft2·°F/BTU)
Panel
(°F) Thickness
Profile
(in.) U-factor R-value
w/o air films w/ air films (BTU/ (hr·ft2·°F/
hr·ft2·°F) BTU)
2 14.29 15.14 0.0706 14.16
2.5 17.86 18.71 0.0516 19.38
3 21.43 22.28 0.0424 23.58
75
4 28.57 29.42 0.0324 30.86
5 35.71 36.56 0.0264 37.88
CF Mesa 6 42.86 43.71 0.0224 44.64
2 15.87 16.72 0.0669 14.95
2.5 19.84 20.69 0.0491 20.37
3 23.81 24.66 0.0401 24.94
40
4 31.75 32.60 0.0305 32.79
5 39.68 40.53 0.0248 40.32
6 47.62 48.47 0.0210 47.62

Core R-value per

36" Wide Panel
ASTM C518
Core (1/4" reveal)
Mean Temp (hr·ft2·°F/BTU)
Panel Profile Thickness
(°F) U-factor R-value
(in.)
w/o air films w/ air films (BTU/ (hr·ft2·°F/
hr·ft2·°F) BTU)
2 14.29 15.14 0.0669 14.95
2.5 17.86 18.71 0.0500 20.00
75
3 21.43 22.28 0.0400 25.00
Architectural
4 28.57 29.42 0.0307 32.57
Flat
2 15.87 16.72 0.0637 15.70
2.5 19.84 20.69 0.0456 21.93
40
3 23.81 24.66 0.0378 26.46
4 31.75 32.60 0.0289 34.60

5
INSULATION VALUES

Core R-value per

Nominal ASTM C518 42” Wide Panel
Mean Temp Core (hr·ft2·°F/BTU)
Panel
(°F) Thickness
Profile
(in.) U-factor R-value
w/o air films w/ air films (BTU/ (hr·ft2·°F/
hr·ft2·°F) BTU)
2 14.29 15.14 0.0721 13.87
2.5 17.86 18.71 0.0523 19.12
3 21.43 22.28 0.0432 23.15
75
4 28.57 29.42 0.0328 30.49
5 35.71 36.56 0.0267 37.45
CF Flute 6 42.86 43.71 0.0226 44.25
2 15.87 16.72 0.0692 14.45
2.5 19.84 20.69 0.0498 20.08
3 23.81 24.66 0.0410 24.39
40
4 31.75 32.60 0.0311 32.15
5 39.68 40.53 0.0252 39.68
6 47.62 48.47 0.0214 46.73

Core R-value per

36" Wide Panel
ASTM C518
Panel Mean Temp Thickness
(hr·ft2·°F/BTU) U-factor R-value
Profile (°F) (in.)
(BTU/ (hr·ft2·°F/
w/o air films w/ air films
hr·ft2·°F) BTU)
3 Due to the deep profiling 0.0814 12.29
4 of the 7.2 Insul-Rib Panel, 0.0537 18.62
Insul-Rib
75 5 the C518 test cannot be 0.0395 25.32
used to determine thermal
6 0.0314 31.85
performance

6
INSULATION VALUES

Nominal Core R-value per

42” Wide Panel
Mean Temp Core ASTM C518
Panel Profile
(°F) Thickness (hr·ft2·°F/BTU) U-factor
(in.) w/o air films w/ air films (BTU/hr·ft2·°F)
3 10.83 11.68 0.0856
4 14.44 15.29 0.0654
ThermalSafe
5 18.05 18.90 0.0529
Wall 75
6 21.66 22.51 0.0444
7 25.27 26.12 0.0383
8 28.88 29.73 0.0336

Core R-value per

42” Wide Panel
Core ASTM C518
Panel Mean Temp
Thickness (hr·ft2·°F/BTU) U-factor R-value
Profile (°F)
(in.) (BTU/ (hr·ft2·°F/
w/o air films w/ air films
hr·ft2·°F) BTU)
2 14.29 15.07 0.0600 16.67
2.5 17.86 18.64 0.0490 20.41
3 21.43 22.21 0.0414 24.15
75
4 28.57 29.35 0.0318 31.45
5 35.71 36.49 0.0257 38.91
CFR Roof 6 42.86 43.64 0.0217 46.08
2 15.87 16.65 0.0567 17.64
2.5 19.84 20.62 0.0462 21.65
3 23.81 24.59 0.0390 25.64
40
4 31.75 32.53 0.0298 33.56
5 39.68 40.46 0.0241 41.49
6 47.62 48.40 0.0201 49.75

7
INSULATION VALUES

Core R-value per

36" Wide Panel
ASTM C518
Panel Mean Temp Thickness
(hr·ft2·°F/BTU) U-factor R-value
Profile (°F) (in.)
(BTU/ (hr·ft2·°F/
w/o air films w/ air films
hr·ft2·°F) BTU)
1.5 10.71 11.56 0.0783 12.77
2 14.29 15.14 0.0602 16.61
2.5 17.86 18.71 0.0491 20.37
75 3 21.43 22.28 0.0414 24.15
4 28.57 29.42 0.0326 30.67
5 35.71 36.56 0.0268 37.31
LS-36 Wall 6 42.86 43.71 0.0227 44.05
1.5 11.90 12.75 0.0745 13.42
2 15.87 16.72 0.0569 17.57
2.5 19.84 20.69 0.0462 21.65
40 3 23.81 24.66 0.0390 25.64
4 31.75 32.60 0.0306 32.68
5 39.68 40.53 0.0250 40.00
6 47.62 48.47 0.0211 47.39

Core R-value per 36” Wide Panel

ASTM C518
Panel Mean Temp Thickness
(hr·ft2·°F/BTU) U-factor R-value
Profile (°F) (in.)
(BTU/ (hr·ft2·°F/
w/o air films w/ air films
hr·ft2·°F) BTU)
1.5 10.71 11.49 0.0788 12.69
2 14.29 15.07 0.0603 16.58
2.5 17.86 18.64 0.0492 20.33
75 3 21.43 22.21 0.0416 24.04
4 28.57 29.35 0.0327 30.58
5 35.71 36.49 0.0267 37.45
LS-36 6 42.86 43.64 0.0223 44.84
Roof 1.5 11.90 12.68 0.0745 13.42
2 15.87 16.65 0.0570 17.54
2.5 19.84 20.62 0.0465 21.51
40 3 23.81 24.59 0.0391 25.58
4 31.75 32.53 0.0306 32.68
5 39.68 40.46 0.0249 40.16
6 47.62 48.40 0.0210 47.62

8
9
 METL-SPAN
1720 LAKEPOINTE DRIVE, SUITE 101
LEWISVILLE, TX 75057
877.585.9969
INFO@METLSPAN.COM

www.metlspan.com

© 2017 METL-SPAN, AN NCI BUILDING SYSTEMS COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.