Material World: Enermax Soundproofing Panels
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 11.30.07
TreeHugger pushes higher density living, but one thing people complain about is noise. It is hard to build a really soundproof wood frame partition wall, but new products like Enermax can make a big difference. It is a 1/2 thick fibreboard sheathing with a foil face. Bonus points: CFC and VOC free, it's made from 98% waste fibre with a corn based binder.
Not only does it cut sound significantly, it insulates too. It isn't hard to use or expensive to purchase: "Enermax provides maximum soundproofing at minimal cost because it's a simple product manufactured from recycled materials."- wood fibre with a foil face for extra reflectivity.
The effectiveness of a wall is measured by its Sound Transmission Class, or STC rating. it is based in the reduction in decibels through a wall; if an 80dB sound on one side is measured as a 30 dB on the other, then the wall has an STC of 30. Since the dB scale is logarithmic and a 10dB reduction is equivalent to being half as loud, going from a standard residential wall of STC 50 isn't going to do much if there is a home theatre on the other side. However if you spend a little money for the double studs and the enermax and you can have a quiet room no matter what the kids are doing on the other side. ::Enermax
Lloyd, sorry to bust these guys, but it is impossible for it to achieve an R value of 4.7 if installed as instructed. I'd say R 2 at best. The problem is that when it is installed with the foil sandwiched up against the gypsum (drywall), the radiant barrier effect is voided. For a radiant barrier to work, it must face an airspace. If not, heat is simply transferred by conduction. The real problem here is that 95% of contractors and even the majority of energy engineers that I've spoken with are not aware of this. You would expect the manufacturer to know this. The fact that they are not makes the skeptic in me question their other claims.
Simply put, if you install a foil faced insulation product without the foil facing an air gap or space (usually of 1" or more) then you have wasted your money on a shiny and hi-tech looking, but totally ineffective surface, and should have gone with a simple paper facing or other. A shame really since most heat in a building is transferred by radiant heat rather than conduction (touching) or convection (air movement). They might also consider not covering 1/4th of the foil surface with blue and yellow paint.
Other than, that is seems like a decent product, and I do like the recycled content. I guess it's just that these days if a company wants to claim "green" cred, they need to be virtually infallable and at least know their own product.
Greenovator -
Maybe I am missing something because I didn't go to the company's website but it looks like they're going more for soundproofing than insulation?
The picture with the Smarte Car shows an air gap in the wall (maybe the gap is facing the wrong way?).
Out of my areas of expertise, but more importantly, the top picture is very pretty.
Good Luck!
vsk
While I have not used either product, QuietRock from www.quietsolution.com seems like the better solution. Their product replaces the sheet rock layer, EnerMax is adding to the wall thickness. And for sound it looks like QuietRock is a better solution. Given the issues with the radiant barrier that were mentioned earlier, there must be more efficient ways of increasing the thermal barrier also.
Greenovator is quite correct--the insulation claim on these, applied as shown, is complete nonsense.