Covestro Materials Utilized in Award-Winning Building Applications

SPRING, TX – August 2, 2016 -- What do a net-zero energy usage home and a citrus processing plant have in common? Both utilize spray polyurethane foam (SPF) and protective membranes from Covestro LLC with award-winning results. The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) awarded both the NGHTV NextGen Net Zero/Healthy Home and the Bee Sweet Citrus processing plant 2016 SPFA Industry Excellence awards.

SPFA honored SPF contractor USI in the “Residential Wall” category for its NextGen Net Zero/Healthy Home. The home was the 2016 International Builder’s Show (IBS) demonstration home earlier this year and illustrates two major residential trends – off-grid living and tiny house construction. The home is designed to be built at a production yard and transported to a final location upon completion. It incorporates a systems approach to achieve maximum energy and water efficiency.

The wood structural support beams of the home are continuous, curved from the floor and up over the wall to form the roof. The envelope system had to be closely coordinated due to the number of different materials, and to ensure it would remain intact during transportation.

USI applied Bayseal® Closed-Cell (CCX) SPF insulation from Covestro to the walls and roof. Lateral framing over these beams holds curved polyiso boards, with another layer of framing on top of that. USI sprayed the Bayseal® CCX SPF directly onto the polyiso in between the framing, then used Bayblock® fluid-applied membrane on top of that.

SPF was the ideal insulation to overcome the installation challenges caused by this home’s irregular shape. Combining polyiso board with approximately five inches of Bayseal? CCX SPF insulation was a cost-effective solution to achieve a high insulation value and minimize air leakage. The 100 percent acrylic makeup of the Bayblock? fluid-applied membrane makes it resistant to weathering and ultraviolet-degradation.

With a sealed envelope, optimized insulation, and the addition of photovoltaic panels, the 432-square-foot home achieved net-zero energy usage.

Central Coating Company took home its award in the “Roof Foam over 40,000 square feet” category. Bee Sweet Citrus is a large processor and packer of specialty citrus. The Bee Sweet facility, located in central California, has expanded over time with buildings being joined together to form a large facility measuring more than a quarter of a million square feet.

To address the leakage issues that are common when metal buidlings are joined together, Bee Sweet Citrus had previously applied 133,720 square feet of SPF roofing to the plant. When Bee Sweet decided in early 2015 to install a 2.3 megawatt photovoltaic system consisting of over 7,400 solar panels, it knew that it would first need to seal the remaining 88,600 square feet of the facility. The expansive size of the solar installation resulted in a staggering number of penetrations. The new roof sealed 2,520 penetrations for the solar standoffs. In addition, 4,977 standoff penetrations had to be sealed into the existing SPF roof system for a total of 7,497 penetrations. The project also included the replacement of 54 skylights.

Central Coating Company utilized SPF and high tensile strength Bayblock® acrylic fluid-applied membrane both from Covestro. The success of the project can be attributed in part to the speedy and efficient sealing enabled by Covestro’s SPF. This project also serves as a perfect example of the relationship between SPF roofing and solar installations. Without the availability of SPF, the building would likely be subject to constant roof leaks both from the solar penetrations and the joining of multiple, individual metal roofs.

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“Buildings of all types can benefit from our SPF and fluid-applied membranes, which can help with increased energy efficiency and protection from the elements,” said Jeremy Parker, national sales manager for Covestro spray insulation and roofing systems. “Sustainability is central to our business, so we are particularly pleased to have played a role in these two noteworthy projects.”

The Bee Sweet Citrus facility and the NextGen Net Zero/Healthy Home are just two examples of how the use of Covestro SPF and fluid-applied membranes can lead to award-winning results.

Covestro’s spray polyurethane foam and Bayblock® fluid-applied membrane materials helped USI and Central Coating Company achieve award-winning results for their building applications.

About Covestro LLC: Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business with 2015 sales of EUR 12.1 billion. Covestro manufactures high-tech polymer materials and develops innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical and sports and leisure industries. The Covestro group has 30 production sites around the globe and employed approximately 15,800 people at the end of 2015.

Find more information at www.polyurethanes.covestro.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports which are available on the Covestro website at www.covestro.com. Covestro assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.