Stapled instead of glued: Safe fire protection with sustainable underfloor heating

Cooperation partners: herotec GmbH Flächenheizung and DEUTSCHE ROCKWOOL GmbH & Co. KG.

Normally, insulation for underfloor heating is anything but environmentally friendly: many of the building materials used cannot be recovered and recycled separately, but are usually incinerated after renovation or deconstruction. herotec has developed an alternative: This is not only recyclable, but can also be produced with much less energy. Nevertheless, no compromises have to be made in terms of fire protection.

Find out more about this special innovation from Münsterland on this page.

The company herotec cooperates with the company DEUTSCHE ROCKWOOL GmbH & Co. KG.
© herotec
herotec from above
© herotec

herotec GmbH Surface Heating, Ahlen-Vorhelm

herotec from Ahlen-Vorhelm has been a specialist for ecological and future-proof solutions in the field of surface heating systems for 40 years. The surface heating systems (such as underfloor heating) are used in new buildings as well as in existing buildings during modernisation/renovation.

DEUTSCHE ROCKWOOL GmbH & Co. KG, Gladbeck

DEUTSCHE ROCKWOOL GmbH & Co KG is part of the ROCKWOOL Group. With four plants and around 1300 employees in Germany, the company offers advanced insulation systems for buildings based on stone wool.

Challenge: Non-combustible insulation materials

Structural fire protection must be ensured in every building. This depends on the building materials used. Insulation materials in particular must not be combustible. Conventional thermal insulation products such as EPS (expanded polystyrene) - popularly known as Styrofoam - are also often criticised: the bonding with the respective surface layers makes clean separation very difficult during renovation or demolition. At the same time, there are currently no recycling processes for the waste produced, so it is usually incinerated. As an alternative, insulation products made of mineral materials can be considered, which are not combustible per se due to their nature and for which corresponding recycling technologies are already available.

Solution: mineral wool insulation

The company herotec GmbH Flächenheizung has developed an insulation for underfloor heating systems based on mineral wool from DEUTSCHE ROCKWOOL GmbH & Co KG - tempusROCK . The challenge is to connect the mineral wool in combination with the individual cover layers in such a way that the layers can be separated again after use. herotec has developed various techniques to securely connect the individual components to the mineral wool - and without adhesives. Two methods were developed: stapling and bonding. Here, the cover layers are joined by means of a large stitching machine. For the various dry construction systems (TBS) with, for example, aluminium heat conducting lamellas, herotec uses a patented adhesive-free crimping technique (crimping).

Success: Good insulation, good environmental balance

tempusROCK from herotec
© herotec

The panel heating system from herotec GmbH offers safe fire protection. This is because the thermal insulation system has a purely mineral structure, but is just as easy to install as conventional insulation. The mineral base material from DEUTSCHE ROCKWOOL is non-combustible and requires no additional flame retardant additives. No toxic pollutants are formed in the event of a fire.

Compared to other insulations, the thermal insulation system also has a very good environmental balance in terms of primary energy demand: the primary energy demand indicates how much energy is actually needed to produce this insulation. This is up to 50 percent lower than for comparable building products. The building materials can also be recycled.

Legal requirements stipulate mandatory installation in public buildings, daycare centres, schools, assembly centres, etc. and lead to an increased demand for sustainable fire protection solutions. herotec now also uses the described technology for supplementary products such as the edge insulation strip.

Enabling Networks Innovation Stories

As a regional joint initiative, Enabling Networks Münsterland supports companies and universities in the Münsterland region in developing innovations, implementing them and finding the right partners for the project. In order to show how innovative and at the same time cooperative Münsterland already is, the project also went in search of innovative cooperation projects from the region. The results are presented on this page. The Enabling Networks Münsterland project is funded by the European Union and the NRW Ministry of Economics as part of the ERDF call "Regio.NRW".

More innovation stories from the region

More on the topic