The process of specifying appropriate insulation requires careful consideration. Insulation is crucial to maintaining the right ambient room temperature, instrumental to achieving energy efficiency targets, key to preventing moisture condensation, and essential in reducing noise levels. Expertly specified and compliant insulation solutions can make or break an architectural project - and help avoid expensive delays and refits or even danger to the occupants.

With the FletcherSpec™ PRO online specification tool, selecting appropriate insulation products that have been designed to the relevant Australian standards has never been easier. Following a recent update, architects, designers and specifiers can be confident that their insulation choices are compliant with the latest Australian regulatory changes - particularly the critical update to Section J of the 2019 National Construction Code of Australia (NCC 2019) with regards to thermal bridging requirements.

FletcherSpec™ PRO online specification tool

Fletcher Insulation created the compliance tool to help Australian architects, builders and specifiers overcome some persistent specification-related issues. The innovative app provides an elaborate support structure through the process from start to finish by centralising several key items pertaining to the typical System R-value calculations for roofs, walls and floors.

From determining the right climate zone, listing relevant energy efficiency requirements and taking into consideration elements like solar absorption values of roof cladding, to indicating the right insulation products for the brief - FletcherSpec™ PRO uses an efficient series of questions to calculate the total R-value of the design.

The latest compliance update

As one of the leading Australian developers and distributors of insulation products in the market, Fletcher Insulation takes pride in ensuring that their products are not only of the highest quality but also compliant with all relevant requirements. As an Australian brand, they’re consistently in tune with the complicated local compliance landscape, keeping abreast of its frequent updates.

In line with that commitment to delivering compliant products, the new tool update helps architects and designers comply with the new requirements for thermal bridging in Section J of the 2019 National Construction Code of Australia (NCC 2019), aligned with the AS/NZS 4859.2:2018 and NZ4214 standards.

Up until the latest update, thermal bridging wasn’t considered in the calculations towards the total R-value. The previous calculations took into consideration the respective R values of each layer that was incorporated as part of the building - without considering thermal bridging as part of the equation. However, in instances where high conductivity materials come into contact, the heat will bypass insulation and travel along the path of least resistance. That means a small amount of thermal bridging which would have been ignored in the past will have a significant impact on the total thermal performance. As such, thermal bridging now has to be considered in assessing the total R-value.

With such a meaningful change to the requirements for thermal bridging in Section J in the 2019 National Construction Code of Australia (NCC 2019), it’s paramount for industry professionals to ensure all relevant values are correctly calculated to meet the applicable compliance standards.

FletcherSpec™ PRO will assist in doing precisely that. Through a process of simplifying and streamlining a variety of complex calculations, the app not only provides reliable calculations of the total R-value performance with thermal bridging but also includes manufacturers who test and warrant their products. That means the architects, designers and builders can find the right, compliant insulation product for their commercial, industrial or residential project, and save a great deal of time - and potential consequential errors - in the process.

You can download FletcherSpec Pro from the Apple App Store or from here.