After a forced shutdown in 2021, the AHR Expo returned as the biggest in-person event in the HVAC industry this last January. The event was held in Las Vegas with over 30,000 industry professionals attending.

At the event, Johns Manville hosted a webinar covering HVAC insulation. The information specifically focused on the solutions for evolving codes and design trends.

One of the biggest trends in the evolving world of codes is the focus on energy efficiency. Of course, that has been a part of the HVAC world for some time now but it has accelerated in the last three to five years as certain climate events have taken place. There has been a movement to Net-Zero buildings which are buildings that produce as much, or more, energy as they consume. Another example is California Title 24. This is going above and beyond different codes that are currently in place to get to a sustainable building structure that will be a long term solution for what buildings will look like in the future.

The presentation quickly began to focus on R-12 insulation in regards to the new codes being adopted by the IECC. This was being done to address the inefficiencies they saw in the duct system. Historically, manufacturers have not made R-12 fiberglass duct liner or duct wrap products. This would force HVAC contractors to double-layer insulation to achieve R-12.

This motivated Johns Manville to offer the Linacoustic duct liner that is three inch thick. This is a benefit to contractors in the states that were early adopters to the IECC codes.

“After that, if we can line the inside of the duct, we can certainly wrap the outside of the duct with R-12,” said Riley Peters, Johns Manville’s HVAC Product Manager. “Our customers quickly asked us for that.”

So the manufacturer now makes this product which is 4.4 inches of insulation that wraps around the duct offered in R-12. At the AHR Expo, Johns Manville was showcasing their 7 inch R-19 duct wrap.

“Of course, if you can make 4.4 inches why can’t you make 7 inches?” Peters said. “We have only had one project that called for this at this point but there are some local codes that will be calling for this in the future. So it will be a standard offering for us where needed.”

Also at the booth, the company was showcasing their Spiracoustic Plus®. It is a spiral duct liner system engineered to provide acoustical and thermal performance for spiral air duct interiors with an airstream diameter of 6 inches and larger. Spiracoustic Plus delivers significantly improved acoustical and thermal performance compared to double-wall construction, all at a competitive cost for the system, according to the company. It is manufactured with evenly-spaced kerfs to allow the material to conform to the inside diameter of spiral ducts, producing a finished airstream surface. This surface is coated with their proprietary Permacote® coating, which provides a durable surface and added product protection against microbial growth. As an added benefit, the exterior surface is laminated with a tough fire-resistant FSK facing.

For more information or to watch the webinar, click here.