Richmond Launches New Energy Saving Product

Richmond Building Products is launching a new solution to effectively counteract the estimated 30% building energy losses attributed to uncontrolled air leakage & air infiltration.

Protect BarriAir provides an effective air leakage barrier with vapour control qualities. When installed immediately adjacent to the insulation on the warm side of the structure, with airtight laps, it is proven to create an airtight system, yielding an air permeability at 200Pa of 0.0l/m2/s.

"Research by the Fraunhofer Institute showed that with just a 1mm continuous air leakage gap, a building can suffer thermal performance worsening by a factor of 4.8 and increased moisture penetration by a factor of 1600," said Frances O’Loughlin, Marketing Manager at Richmond.


"Protect BarriAir in conjunction with Protect sealing tape delivers the airtightness so reduces accidental heat loss, but also helps avoid interstitial condensation, delivering an effective solution to optimise a building's thermal efficiency in all stages of the structure’s life, from design through creation to occupation. As a result, it also makes a positive contribution towards a building meeting Building Regulations and Standards requirements for airtightness to reduce energy consumption."

The product has been specifically developed to deliver high tensile and nail tear strength, yet still be easy to cut and manoeuvre to- and on- site to simplify the installation process, whether in traditional masonry or timber frame construction.

The launch of the product is aimed at complementing the company's established range of Protect membranes. The firm has offices in Belfast, Dublin and Cork.