## Environmental Product Declaration



# Spray Polyurethane Foam for Insulation and Roofing Systems

About the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance

Founded in 1987 originally as the Polyurethane Foam Contractors Division, the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) is the voice, along with the educational and technical resource, for the spray polyurethane foam industry. Our experienced staff and member-comprised committees provide a wide variety of services to the industry.

SPFA develops tools designed to educate and influence the construction industry with the positi ve benefits of spray polyurethane foam roofing, insulation, and climate control systems.

SPFA continues to provide many services to our members and the SPF industry with the following:

• Certification and Educational Programs

• Technical Literature and Guidelines 800 "Helpline" for Members Technical questions (1-800-523-6154)

• Annual Spray Foam Convention and Exposition

• Website

• Research

• Directory and Buyers' Guide SPFA

• Regulatory and legislative activities

SPFA is a 501(c)6 trade association, which is composed of contractors, manufacturers, and distributors of polyurethane foam, related equipmen t, and protective coatings, inspections, surface preparations, and other services.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________ This declaration is an environmental product declar ation (EPD) in accordance with ISO 14025. EPDs rely on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to provide information on a number of environmental impacts of products over their lif e cycle. Exclusions: EPDs do not indicate that any environmental or social performan ce benchmarks are met, and there may be impacts that they do not encompass. LCAs do not typically address the sitespecific environmental impacts of raw material extr action, nor are they meant to assess human health toxicity. EPDs can complement but can not replace tools and certifications that are designed to address these i mpacts and/or set performance thresholds – e.g. Type 1 certifications, health ass essments and declarations, environmental impact assessments, etc. Accuracy of Results: EPDs regula rly rely on estimations of impacts, and the level o f accuracy in estimation of effect differs for any pa rticular product line and reported impact. Compara bility: EPDs are not comparative assertions and are either not comparable or have limited comparability when t hey cover different life cycle stages, are based on dif ferent product category rules or are missing releva nt environmental impacts. EPDs from different programs may not be comparable.

PROGRAM OPERATOR UL Environment DECLARATION HOLDER Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance DECLARATION NUMBER 13CA29310.101.1

DECLARED PRODUCT Open-cell, low-density spray polyurethane foam insu lation, closed-cell, mediumdensity spray polyurethane foam insulation and clos ed-cell spray polyurethane foam for low-slope roofing systems. REFERENCE PCR PCR Building Envelope Thermal Insulat ion (ULE 2011) DATE OF ISSUE 10 October 2013 PERIOD OF VALIDITY 5 years

CONTENTS OF THE DECLARATION Product definition and information about building p hysics Information about basic material and the material’s origin Description of the product’s manufacture Indication of product processing Information about the in-use conditions Life cycle assessment results Testing results and verifications

The PCR review was conducted by: UL Environment PCR was approved by Panel 333 Pfingsten Road Northbrook, IL 60062 epd@ul.com This declaration was independently verified in accordance with ISO 14025 by Underwriters Laboratories

☐ INTERNAL ☒ EXTERNAL Hilary Young

This life cycle assessment was independently verifi ed in accordance with ISO 14044 and the reference PCR by: Thomas P. Gloria, Life-Cycle Services, LLC

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________ 

## Product Definition and Information

____________________________________ Product Description

Spray polyurethane foam (SPF) is made on the jobsit e by combining methylene-diphenelene diisocyanate (MDI or A-side) with an equal volume of a polyol bl end (B-side). The A and B side react and expand at the point of application in the building envelope to fo rm polyurethane foam, The formed-in-place SPF provi des both thermal insulation and air sealing material.

SPF can be divided into three distinct classes depe nding on performance and application. Open-cell, lowdensity spray foam (LD-SPF) provides insulation and air sealing. Closed-cell, medium density foam (MD

SPF) provides a water-resistant insulation, air-sea ling, water vapor control and delivers added struct ural performance to the building envelope. Closed-cell spray foam (Roof-SPF) for roofing systems is used o n the external surface of low slope roofs. Its higher de nsity provided additional compressive strength need ed for roofing applications. A summary of the material pr operties is provided in Table 1.

Table 1 - Typical SPF Properties

(1) An ASTM materials specification is under developmen t for open-cell low-density SPF (2) ASTM C1029 Types I and II define the properties for closed-cell, medium-density SPF (3) ASTM C1029 Types III and IV define the properties f or closed-cell, roofing SPF Spray Foam Classification

PROPERTY Open

- Cell Low Density (1) (LD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Medium Density (2) (MD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Roofing (3) (Roof-SPF) Density (lb/ft 3 ) 0.5 - 1.4 1.5 -2.5 2.5 - 3.5 Thermal Resistivity (R/in) 3.6 - 4.5 6.2 - 6.8 6.2 - 6.8 Air Impermeable Material    Integral Vapor Retarder  
Water Resistant   Cavity Insulation  
Continuous Insulation    Low-Slope Roofing  Structural Improvement  

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Manufacturing Locations

The A-side of SPF is manufactured by four U.S. base d chemical manufacturing companies with processing facilities located in Texas and Louisiana. The B-s ide formulation is made by several formulators or s ystems houses located throughout the U.S. and Canada. Mos t of the primary chemicals used in the B-side formulation are processed in facilities in Texas, L ouisiana and Virginia.



## Applications and Uses

LD-SPF is applied to the interior side of the build ing envelope as an insulation and air-sealing mater ial. It is used to insulate under roof decks, on attic floors, above-grade walls, and below floors. MD-SPF is a pplied to the interior or exterior side of the building en velope and can be used in the same applications as LD-SPF. Due to its water resistance, it can also be used on below grade walls and under slabs. Roof-SPF is ap plied to the exterior surface of low-slope roofs. A vari ety of polymeric coatings are used over Roof-SPF to provide protection against ultraviolet light and me chanical abrasion.



## Installation

All three SPF classes are installed by professional applicators by on-site mixing of the A and B side chemicals. These chemicals, which are typically de livered in 55-gallon drums to the jobsite, are heat ed and pressurized by specialized equipment. The chemical s are aerosolized by a spray gun and combined by impingement mixing during application. Personal p rotective equipment is required to protect applicat ors from chemical exposure during installation.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Material Content

SPF is created by mixing equal volumes of the A-sid e and B-side chemicals. The A-side is made from a blend of polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (pMDI) . The B-side is a mixture of polyester and polyeth er polyols, flame retardants, blowing agents, catalyst s, and other additives that, when mixed with A-side creates foam that can be applied for insulation. As the precise formulation of the B-side will vary wi th each company producing SPF chemicals, this study uses ge neric formulations based on spray foam industry input. A total of five different formulations were studied, three based on SPFA member input and two provided by American Chemistry Council’s Center for the Polyurethanes Industry. Since one half of the formulation by volume is pMDI (A-side), Table 2 foc uses on the other multi-component half (B-side) for three representative formulations from SPFA members

.

Table 2 - Generic B-side Spray Foam Formulations (SPFA) HEMI CAL Low-density (Low-Den 1) Spray Foam Classification

COMPONENT TYPE Open

- Cell Low Density (LD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Medium Density (MD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Roofing (Roof-SPF)

Polyol (1) Polyester - 45.0% 35.0%

Mannich - 30% 45.0% Compatibilizer 10.0% - - Polyether 35.0% - -

Flame Retardant TCPP 25.0% 4.0% 8.0%

Brominated - 6.0% -
Blowing Agent Reactive (H2O) 23.5% 2.0% 1.6%

Physical (HFC-245fa) - 8.5% 7.0%
Catalysts Amine 6.0% 3.0% 2.0%

Metal - 0.5% 0.4% Surfactants Silicone 0.5% 1.0% 1.0% (1) Natural oil (bio-based) polyols were not considered in this analysis, nor were any upstream renewable or recyclable materials included in polyol production. Individual manufacturers may el ect to include these in future product-specific LCA /EPD reports.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Manufacturing Process

The schematic below shows the typical equipment com ponents used to produce foam insulation, including 1) A-side liquid drum and 2) B-side liquid drum wit h transfer pumps, which are connected to 3) the proportioner for combining the chemicals, and then to 4) a heated hose connected to 5) the fluid temperature sensor and finally to 6) the spray gun for applying the insulation.



## Use of Material and Energy Resources

Non-Renewable & Renewable

Life cycle material and energy resources are shown in Table 3a and 3b for each of the reference flows for various spray foam insulation types. Al l units are in kg/reference flow. It should be noted that the results in this report apply to all the types o f densities listed. Low Den 1 vs. Low Den 2 and Med Den 1 vs. Med Den 2 represent slightly differen t consensus-based generic formulation inputs from S PFA and CPI, respectively, but they yielded substantial ly the same results.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________

Table 3a - Life Cycle Material/Energy Resources fo r 1 m 2 at a thickness that provides R SI = 1 (mass basis)
Low Den 1 Low Den 2 Med Den 1 Med Den 2 Roofing Reference Flows Mass [lbs] 0.131 0.131 2.55 2.55 3.67 Thickness [inches] 1.58 1.58 0.92 0.92 0.92 Inputs [kg/Reference flow] Crude oil 0.514 0.517 1.01 0.987 1.426 Hard coal 0.302 0.304 0.500 0.546 0.750 Lignite 0.049 0.050 0.075 0.086 0.117 Natural Gas 0.511 0.521 1.013 1.004 1.460 Non-renewable resources 3.20 3.22 5.00 5.74 7.84 Renewable resources 477 475 769 819 1115 Water 458 456 737 785 1065 Steam 0 0 0 0 0

Table 3b – Life Cycle Energy Resources for 1 m 2 at a thickness that provides R SI = 1 (Energy Basis, Net Calorific Value)

Low Den 1 Low Den 2 Med Den 1 Med Den 2 Roofing Non renewable energy resources [MJ] Crude oil 19.45 19.50 36.90 36.23 52.17 Hard coal 7.50 7.61 12.46 13.60 18.67 Lignite 0.54 0.57 0.86 0.98 1.34 Natural Gas 20.25 20.82 40.18 39.84 57.89 Uranium 2.75 2.82 4.45 4.82 6.65 TOTAL non renewable 50.50 51.32 94.84 95.46 136.72 Renewable energy resources [MJ] Geothermal 0.07 0.07 0.11 0.12 0.16 Hydro power 0.43 0.45 0.73 0.79 1.10 Solar Energy 0.53 0.57 1.27 1.22 1.79 Wind power 0.14 0.15 0.21 0.25 0.34 TOTAL renewable 1.17 1.24 2.32 2.38 3.39

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Primary Energy by Life-Cycle Stages

Raw materials/blending account for almost 90% of th e Primary Energy from non-renewable sources for each type of insulation (1 m 2 of insulation with a thickness that provides R SI = 1).



## Life Cycle Assessment-Product System and Modeling of Life Cycle

___________________________________________________ _________

Functional Unit

The functional unit of the product as defined by th e PCR is 1 m 2 of insulation material with a thickness that gives a design thermal resistance R SI = 1 m 2

· K/W and with a building service life of 60 years.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Life Cycle Stages Assessed

The LCA was a comprehensive cradle to end-of-life s tudy for five generic spray polyurethane foam formulations used as thermal insulation, and includ ed the following:

• Production and manufacturing of raw materials for s pray foam and packaging

• Spray foam formulation

• Spray foam installation

• End-of-Life of insulation and packaging

• Transportation between all life cycle stages



## System Boundaries

This LCA focused only on the spray foam insulation in a building. All other building materials are exc luded. Examples of “SPF Use” phase energy savings and envi ronmental impacts avoided are covered in the sectio n on Additional Environmental Information (Building U se Stage Benefits). Maintenance of SPF insulation is not normally required and was and therefore exclude d.


## Assumptions

Since assumptions are critical in conducting an LCA , key assumptions for each life cycle stage were ba sed on input from numerous industry experts and subsequ ently verified by experts during LCA critical revie w. Key assumptions include:

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________ • Properties: The two Low Density Foams are assumed to have a nominal density of 0.5 lbs/ft 3 and a thermal resistance of R IP = 3.6 h

· ft2

· °F/Btu; the two Medium Density foams are assumed to have a nominal density of 2.0 lbs/ft 3 and a thermal resistance of R IP = 6.2 h

· ft2

· °F/Btu; and the roofing foam is assumed to have a nominal density of 3.0 lbs/ft 3 and a thermal resistance of R IP = 6.2 h

· ft2

· °F/Btu.

• Formulation: Chemicals and amounts used (listed in the Material Content section) were assumed representative based on input and consensus by SPFA members. Emissions from the blowing agent (HFC-245fa) used in closed cell foams are the major contributor to climate change impacts, contributing around 85% of global warming potential agent over the lifetime of the spray foam. It is assumed that 50% of the original blowing agent rema ins in the product, while 50% is emitted as noted in the stages below.

• Installation: The LCA assumes 10% of the original blowing agent is released to surrounding air during the installation phase.

• Use Stage: It is assumed that 24% of the original blowing agent is emitted over a 60 year lifetime.

• End-of-Life: The spray foam is assumed to be landf illed at end-of-life. The LCA assumes 16% of the original blowing agent is emitted at this stage. It is further assumed the spray foam is inert in the landfill.



## Cut-Off Criteria

The cut-off criteria for the LCA are as follows:

• Mass – If a flow is less than 1% of the cumulative mass of the model it may be excluded, providing its environmental relevance is not a concern.

• Energy – If a flow is less than 1% of the cumulativ e energy of the model it may be excluded, providing its environmental relevance is not a conc ern.



## • Environmental relevance – If a flow meets the above criteria for exclusion, yet is thought to potentially have a significant environmental impact , it was included.



## • The sum of the excluded material flows must not exc eed 5% of mass, energy or environmental relevance.


## Transportation

Although transportation accounted for relatively mi nimal impacts, data were obtained from six formulat ors and six installation contractors. Average transpor tation distances/transport modes covered raw materi als to formulation facilities, A-side and B-side produc t to construction sites and disposal at end-of-life . Truck transportation models were based on the most recent US Census Bureau Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey and US EPA emissions standards for heavy trucks.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Period Under Consideration

Spray foam installation and formulation primary dat a were collected using written questionnaires from 2010 yearly totals.


## Secondary Data

The LCA model was created using the GaBi 5 Software system for life cycle engineering, developed by PE INTERNATIONAL AG. Secondary data were obtained usi ng the GaBi 5 database for the raw materials and
processes.


## Data Quality

Data quality factors considered precision, complete ness, consistency and representativeness. As a res ult, this study is believed to reflect currently produce d spray foam in North America. First-hand industry data in combination with consistent background LCA informat ion from the GaBi LCI database are used, and datasets have been cross-checked with other databas es and values from industry and science.

Data representativeness covered time related covera ge (all primary data was collected from 2010 annual values), geographical coverage (all primary data wa s collected in North America) and technological coverage (primary data was collected from major for mulators and installers in the industry).



## Allocation

Since most spray foam formulators create more than just the chemicals needed for spray foam, mass allocation of the facility’s total life cycle inven tory was performed for this primary data based on t he annual output mass of the products created. For all refin ery products, allocation by mass and net calorific value is applied. Allocation of other raw materials and chem icals needed during manufacturing are modeled using the allocation rule most suitable for the respectiv e product.


## Use Stage (Phase)

Since installed spray foam insulation normally requ ires no maintenance, there are no environmental impacts associated with its use in the case of open -cell foam. Emissions of blowing agent (HFC-245a) occur during the use stage of closed cell foam, as noted in the Assumptions section. However, there are significant energy savings and environmental impact s avoided from spray foam insulation during the use phase. Examples are noted under Optional Environme ntal Information (Building Use Stage Benefits).

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## End-of-Life

At end of life, it was assumed that all insulation materials removed from demolition of a building are transported to a local construction waste landfill, using 100 miles as the average distance to a landf ill.



## Life Cycle Assessment-Product

In addition to embodied Primary Energy by Life Cycl e Stage previously covered, impact assessment resul ts are given below for each embodied life cycle stage. Impact categories were calculated using TRACI 2. 0 methodology. All results are based on 1 m 2 of spray foam insulation with a thickness that pro vides R SI = 1.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## ___________________________________________________ _________

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Environmental Impact per Functional Unit

Table 4a – Life Cycle Impacts per Functional Unit ( R SI =1 @1m 2 or R5.68 @ 1m 2 )



## How to Calculate Environmental Impact Values for “R ” Values other than the Functional Unit.

The functional unit for the study is in metric unit s of R SI =1, which is equivalent to R IP =5.68 in U.S Customary Units. The U.S. Customary Unit is the value one wou ld find stated on the product data sheets for SPF s old in North America. In order to determine the burden per square foot for the desired R-value of product installed, the scaling factor for the installed R-v alue as listed Table 4b should be used to multiply the impact category value for product as listed for the functi onal unit in Table 4a above. The factors in Table 4b are applicable to all spray foam classifications. If the environmental impacts are needed per pound or p er board-foot of the material, multiply the impacts in Table 4a using the conversion factors in Table 4c. Spray Foam Classification

Life Cycle Impact Units Open

- Cell Low Density (LD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Medium Density (MD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Roofing (Roof-SPF) Primary Energy Demand MJ 50.5 94.8 136.7 Climate Change or Global Warming kg CO 2 equiv. 2.4 27.6 34.3 Acidification mol H + equiv. 0.396 0.780 1.073 Eutrophication kg N equiv. 4.33E-04 8.99E-04 1.33E-04 Ozone Depletion kg CFC-11 equiv. 6.59E-08 1.15E-08 1.67E-07 Smog Creation kg O 3 equiv. 0.094 0.180 0.267

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________

Table 4b – Life Cycle Impacts Factors for Table 4a (multiply to obtain impact per 1 ft 2 at installed R-value)

 	
			
 = 

. @

	
		 = . @ × 		 ×  . !	" 

Example 1:

**What is the Climate Change (global warming) impact, in lbs of CO**  **2 equivalent, for open-cell foam installed**  **to R13 to cover an area of 2,500 ft 2**  **?**

From Table 4a, open-cell foam generates 2.4 kg of C O 2 equivalent per functional unit (volume of foam to provide R5.68 over an area of 1m 2 ). From Table 4b the conversion factor for R13 is 0.213. Multiply this conversion factor of 0.213 by 2.4 to obtain 0.51 kg of CO 2 equivalent per square foot at R13.

To convert this climate change impact from kg CO 2 /ft 2 to lb CO 2 /ft 2 , multiply by 2.205 to get 1.127 lb
CO 2 /ft 2

. To find the total climate change impact for the ent ire area of foam, multiply by 2,500 ft2 to get 2,818 lb CO2 equivalent for the entire area. Installed R

value (R IP ) Impact per ft 2 of

insulation
R5 0.082 R10 0.164 R13 0.213 R15 0.245 R19 0.311 R20 0.327 R21 0.343 R25 0.409 R30 0.491 R38 0.622 R49 0.801

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________

Table 4c – Life Cycle Impacts Factors for Table 3 ( multiply to obtain impact per lb or board-foot)

 	
			
 = 

. @

	
		, 			$	" = . @ × 

% ×  . !	" 

	
		, 				 = . @ × 

% ×  	" ×  . !	"  × 

$ " & ⁄

Example 2:

**What is the Primary Energy Demand impact, in MJ, fo r one drum set (4,000 board-feet) of medium density**  **foam?**

From Table 4a, medium density foam requires 94.8 MJ per functional unit (volume of foam to provide R5.68 over an area of 1m 2 ). From Table 4b the conversion factor for MD-SPF to obtain the impact per board foot is 0.101. Multiply this conversion fac tor of 0.101 by 94.8 to obtain 9.57 MJ/ board-foot of MDSPF.

To determine the MJ consumed to make one drumset, m ultiply 9.57 MJ/board-foot by 4,000 board feet to get 38,300 MJ per drum set of MD-SPF

. Spray Foam Classification Open

- Cell Low Density (LD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Medium Density (MD-SPF) Closed

- Cell

Roofing (Roof-SPF) Thermal Performance (R/inch) 3.6 6.2 6.2 Density (lb/ft 3 ) 0.5 2.0 3.0 Conversion Factor Impact per board foot 0.059 0.101 0.101 Impact per pound 1.413 0.608 0.406

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Waste and Water Consumption

Table 5: Waste and Water Usage per functional unit of (1 m 2 at a thickness that provides R SI = 1)

Low Den 1 Low Den 2 Med Den 1 Med Den 2 Roofing Reference Flows Mass [lbs] 0.131 0.131 2.55 2.55 3.67 Thickness [inches] 1.58 1.58 0.92 0.92 0.92 Inputs [kg/Reference flow] Hazardous waste for recovery 0.004 0.004 0.007 0.0 07 0.010 Waste for recovery 0.004 0.004 0.143 0.007 0.011 Waste for landfill 0.003 0.003 0.008 0.007 0.011 Water 458 456 737 785 1065



## Optional Environmental Information

___________________________________________________ _________ Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions

Several open and closed-cell SPF manufacturers have certified or tested their insulation products to v arious VOC standards to measure emissions of volatile or s emi-volatile compounds. These standards include:

• UL Environment GREENGUARD® Certification - The GREE NGUARD® Certification Program specifies strict certification criteria for VOC's and indoor air quality. This voluntary program helps consumer s identify products that have low chemical emissions for improved indoor air quality.



### • California Department of Health Services - Also kno wn as Section 01350, this small-chamber emissions test standard is detailed under: **Standard Practice for the Testing of Volatile Organ ic**  **Emissions from Various Sources Using Small-Scale En vironmental Chambers**  (CA/DHS/EHLB/Standard Method v1.1-2010)



### .

• Canadian ULC – Required for SPF insulation products , this standard provides a similar VOC emissions test protocol specifically for SPF: **CAN/ULC S774-09 Standard Laboratory Guide for the Determination of Volatile Organic Compound Emission**  **s from Polyurethane Foam**

• Currently, an ASTM workgroup is developing a small- chamber emissions test protocol for chemical compounds specific to SPF that include MDI, blowing agents, flame retardants and catalysts.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Natural Oil Polyols

Natural Oil Polyols, or NOPs, are being used in some spray foam formulations, as some manufactur ers are using renewable materials in their formulation to h elp differentiate their products from conventional petroleum-based materials. NOPs may include vegeta ble oils such as soy, castor, glycerin and rapeseed

. This LCA was based on conventional petroleum-based polyols, as these are the most widely used in the industry and more representative of most current sp ray foam formulations.


## Low-GWP Blowing Agents for Closed-Cell SPF

One of the main benefits of conducting an LCA is to highlight potential environmental improvements. T his EPD is based a LCA that uses the most common blowin g agent for closed cell (medium and high density) spray foams, HFC-245fa. Because of the high global warming potential factor of HFC-245fa (1,030 kg CO 2 - equivalent/kg), the emissions of this blowing agent account for approximately 85% of the global warmin g potential life cycle results for the medium density closed cell and roofing foams.

At the time of EPD release, low GWP blowing agents have been developed by manufacturers and are in the process of being commercialized for spray foam appl ications. The GWP for some new generation blowing agents is reported to be over 100 times less than c onventional blowing agents. A life cycle assessment of new lowGWP blowing agent indicates that the manufacturing burdens for a spray foam formulation using HFO1336mzz-Z are similar to and do not dramatically inc rease compared to a spray foam formulation using conventional blowing agents. Re-assessment of the s pray foam life cycle using the new low-GWP blowing agents is an area for future study when these mater ials become broadly commercialized.

It is important to consider the entire life cycle w hen assessing environmental impacts. The release of the blowing agent HFC-245fa over the embodied life cycl e stages (manufacturing, installation, disposal) contributes approximately 85% of the global warming potential. However, when the entire life cycle (u se phase GHG avoided) is taken into account, the contr ibution of HFC-245fa to the total life cycle GHG fo r a house ranges from 11% (Houston) to 4% (Minneapolis) . Replacement of HFC-245fa in closed cell SPF with one having a negligible GWP would result in GHG emb odied/avoided ratios ranging from 2% (Houston) to 0.7% (Minneapolis). Further examples of use stage benefits are given below.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## Building Use-Stage Benefits

The life cycle results covered in previous sections of this EPD focus on the embodied stages of a prod uct (manufacturing, transportation, installation and di sposal) as determined from conventional LCA methodology (ISO 14040/14044). However, the embodi ed stage impacts do not tell the whole story since the energy saved and environmental impacts avoided during insulation use must be considered.

Determining energy savings and environmental impact s avoided during insulation use is performed with whole building energy simulation tools: for reside ntial homes in this study EnergyGauge Software was used; for a typical type of commercial building (st rip mall) US DOE EnergyPlus software was used. Combining energy and environmental impacts generate d in the embodied phases with the energy and environmental impacts reduced during insulation use provides a complete picture of the life cycle.

The bar chart shows the total life cycle energy res ults for a new residential house with open-cell (lo w density) and closed-cell (medium density) SPF insul ation in roof and walls compared to no cavity insu lation (overall trends are similar for all other impact ca tegories such climate change, acidification etc.). Also shown are results for a commercial building roof in sulation retrofit, where SPF is added to existing R 4 and R12 baseline insulation levels to bring the total t o R20. The magnitude of energy savings for the comm ercial building roof retrofit is significantly greater tha n that for the residential housing since the commer cial roof insulated area that is approximately ten times grea ter than the insulated area of the residential hous e modeled.

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________ For energy as well as other impact categories, the embodied aspects are relatively small when compared to the much greater energy savings and environmenta l impacts avoided during insulation use for 60 year s.

Table 6 shows the energy saved/embodied and GHG avo ided/embodied ratios and payback periods for the residential and commercial scenarios, as energy wit h its cost implications and climate change are typi cally of interest to many stakeholders. When the ratio of energy saved or GHG avoided is higher, the payback is lower. For example, in Richmond, the ocSPF saved/em bodied energy is 128, and the reciprocal or ocSPF embodied/saved ratio is 0.008, which also indicates the negligible embodied energy compared to the energy savings. Multiplying by the 60 year service life yields the payback of 0.5 shown.

Table 6 - Energy and GHG Payback: Residential House and Strip Mall roof, 60 years

For additional details on building energy savings a nd associated environmental impacts avoided by usin g spray foam insulation, please see [link to SPFA web site with more info. including our PU Magazine arti cles, CPI presentation, poster etc]. Application SPF Type Ratio & Payback Houston Richmond Minneapolis Energy GHG Energy GHG Energy GHG

Residential Insulation Low Density

Open-Cell Avoided/Embodied 64 92 128 164 194 248

Payback (Yr) 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 Med. Density Closed-Cell Avoided/Embodied 32 7.6 64 13.6 98 21

Payback (Yr) 1.9 7.9 0.9 4.4 0.6 2.9

Commercial Roofing Roofing

R4 → R20 Avoided/Embodied 55 15 56 15 66 17

Payback (Yr) 1.1 4 1.1 4.1 0.9 3.6 Roofing R12 → R20 Avoided/Embodied 30 8.2 28 7.5 29 7.3

Payback (Yr) 2 7.3 2.1 8.0 2.1 8.3

## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________



## References

___________________________________________________ _________ International Standards Organization, **Environmental Management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and**  **Guidelines** , 2006.

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, Version 1, 2011, UL Environment.

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## Environmental Product Declaration

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation and Roofing Syst ems According to ISO 14025

___________________________________________________ ____________________________________ **Advanced Energy**
, **Houston Home Energy Efficiency Study** , 2009: Raleigh, NC.

Sustainable Solutions Corporation, **SPF Residential Energy Modeling Analysis/ SPF Comme rcial Energy Modeling**  **Analysis** , 2012: Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance.

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Johnas, C. and H. Walter-Terrinoni. **A Life Cycle Look at Spray Foam Expansion Agents: A Cradle-to-Grave Analysis** 

. CPI Polyurethanes 2011 Technical Conference Proceed ings. 2011.