“Reflective insulations also incorporate air as an insulator by creating air cavities within a product and/or in conjunction with the building structure around them to reduce the convective component of heat transfer,” Wester explains. “In the case of our RetroShield system, it addresses conduction, convection, and radiation plus creates a continuous insulation barrier to stop that transfer of heat or cold. Reflective insulations can also be combined with traditional insulations to help them perform better and create an optimized solution.”
It is widely accepted by building scientists that heat transfer can be substantially minimized by controlling the radiant energy passing through both the ceilings and walls, Wester points out. “The RetroShield System is designed to virtually eliminate radiant heat transfer,” he says.
Fi-Foil’s RetroShield System is a viable option to quickly and economically upgrade the interior of a facility to a clean environment, sealing off old deteriorated insulation, peeling paint, or other potential food contamination issues, Wester adds.
“Within the food industry, RetroShield has recently been sought out to solve problems associated with an aging facility, as well as to increase energy efficiency, comfort, and create a brighter workspace,” Wester elaborates.
Wester notes that a law of thermodynamics is that heat energy flows from hot to cold. “By design, Fi-Foil products function to reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter, thus providing an ability to better control the interior temperature of a facility,” he says. “The result is improved energy efficiency, comfort, and working conditions that often lead to higher productivity.”
Roofing Diagnostics Tools
There haven’t been any major innovations in roofing products of late, says Fred Sitter, marketing manager for Royalty Roofing, Seymour, Ind., a company that serves the food industry. “Although there have been modifications to product formulations and roof membrane thickness, “most commercial roofing materials in use today have been around for decades,” Sitter relates. “However, a recent development relative to roofs is the use of infrared technology to identify problem areas.”
Since its wavelength is too long to be detected by the human eye, thermal energy, also known as infrared energy, is light that is not visible. Thus, it requires a thermal imaging device or infrared camera which detects infrared energy, converts that energy to an electronic signal and then produces a thermal image on a video monitor.
Thermal imaging is non-invasive and allows for quick evaluation of a large area. “Thermal imaging shows temperature variations on the rooftop, which in turn can indicate the presence of problematic moisture under the roof surface,” Sitter relates.
While a roof represents only about five percent of the cost of a commercial building, 70 percent to 80 percent of lawsuits associated with commercial (any non-single-family) buildings, including food processing facilities, are centered around failures in the integrity of the roofs, Sitter notes. He says the main causes of leak problems are poor initial installation and not taking care of leaks as soon as they arise.
“Roofing failures impact the whole environment of a building, so timely, accurate detection of roof leaks and moisture penetration is critical to the food industry because water damages insulation and other building components, including drywall, ceiling panels, etc., and can cause mold growth and create an environment for pests to breed,” Sitter emphasizes. “Such a setting would threaten a company’s objective to process food safely. Ensuring rooftop watertight integrity should be a part of any food manufacturer’s safety strategy.
“To that end, cameras that detect infrared radiation are being used with increasing frequency to inspect roofs and pinpoint leak locations,” Sitter says. “And drones are being used to carry the cameras, which can provide a safe alternative to humans climbing on a roof. Drone and infrared camera technology is increasingly affordable and, in my view, will become as essential as screw guns and hot-air welders in a roofer’s toolkit.”
Conveyor Belt Innovation
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