Hi all, hope lockdown isn't driving everyone too crazy. We have made some major changes to our products so wanted to inform everyone with as much information as we can and explain why we made these changes.
Glass-wool to Polyester
Firstly, we have decided to change the core insulation absorber inside all of our panels. We were previously using a 32kg/m3 density glass-wool and have now switched to a 20kg/m3 polyester (as shown in picture).
Why? The main reason is because we work with this material everyday and we got tired of wearing PPE when handling the glass-wool. Even though it's completely safe when contained inside a panel, we wanted to save ourselves a whole lot of hassle as our production line kicks into higher gears. Glass-wool has also been known to cause issues for people prone to allergies and asthma. Myself being one of these people, it seemed like the right choice to make the change.
Polyester on the other hand is the perfect material. It has a similar performance, requires no masks or gloves to handle and it completely allergy free. It is literally like no other insulation product in terms of ease of use.
Because of this, we have decided to now NOT cover the rear of our panels with fabric like we did previously. Instead we have placed 2 pieces of Plywood (I know the picture is MDF, I'll get to that) across the back. This helps add stability to the frame and allows for easier hanging options.
NOTE: We will be changing our wall hang kits to a 'french cleat' system shortly.
Density change
You may ask why the density is less than before? Well there are a couple of reasons for that.
The first is that we are about to start constructing our new corner tri-traps, and to do this we needed a less dense material (the thicker the absorber, the less dense they should be to be more effective). So as we wanted to use the same insulation across all of our products.
'But wont that make the panels less effective' you may ask? Well, yes marginally, but only if we were using the same thickness. Ie 50mm glass-wool 32kg vs 50mm polyester. But another change that we have made is that we have decided to fill our panels all the way through to the pack of the frame, not leaving any air-gap like there was before. This gives the Standard size panels 100mm of inso instead of 50mm and 50mm air-gap, and the Ultra size panels 200mm instead of 150mm and 50mm air-gap. So now that we have thicker insulation, we have a slightly better product, even when the density is less.
No Air-gap
Another question you may ask now is that 'doesn't the air-gap make it a better panel too?' And yes it sort of does. Although it's sort of like pretending it's a thicker panel by adding a gap but isn't as effective as actually filling that space with inso. So you could still add an additional air-gap to the new panels and get even better results if you wish/have the space to do so.
No more Plus sizes
So as we have slightly increased the performance of our Standard sized panels closer to that of the Plus size, we have decided to drop the Plus size all together. As this size did not sell as much and as our business expands into new products (bass traps, diffusers and more), we figured we'd make some more space for these new ventures. The new insulation also comes in 100mm sheets so couldn't really fill a 150mm (Plus size) frame anyhow.
If you already have some Plus size panels and would like so more to match them, shoot us a message and we may still be able to custom make some for you, but they will only have 100mm insulation and will be the original Plus size price.
So in conclusion, as a highly valued customer, you are getting a better performing product that is stronger and will give you absolutely no allergy or asthma issues.
Any q. just give us a bell!
All the best, Tom.