Safety and design come together as one
Novowood understands the importance of fire protection design for large or high occupancy projects. This is why we have developed the new ‘Fire Retardant’ formulation; a blend that can provide high fire reaction performance even when used on façades, and combines the typical aesthetics of the product with high safety standards. This is an important result for Novowood and a great opportunity for designers.
The ‘Fire Retardant’ formulation in fact, has a B–s1,d0 reaction to fire classification for use on walls according to UNI EN 13501-1:2019.
The key role of Novowood ‘Fire Retardant’
The European regulation, which is the current reference standard, assigns materials a reaction to fire classification of from A to F, with the combustion level fire increasing with each level. Class A includes non-combustible materials, such as cement. These are immediately followed by class B products, such as Novowood ‘Fire Retardant’, which are defined as ‘non-flammable combustible materials’, meaning that their contribution to combustion is minimal and significantly less than that of all other products in classes C to F.
In addition to the letter indicating the reaction to fire classification, the standard also classifies materials according to their tendency to produce smoke: s1 indicates that the amount of smoke and the speed at which it is emitted during combustion are minimal, guaranteeing a level of safety in the event of a fire inside buildings.
The additional suffix d0 indicates the absence of flaming droplets / particles. In fact, the Novowood ‘Fire Retardant’ formula does not drip when burning: the material does not melt during or after exposure to a heat source.
The European Classification B-s1,d0 rating of Novowood’s ‘Fire Retardant’ is comparable to the Italian Class 1 for wall cladding as indicated in the Ministerial Decree of 15 March 2005. In order to make it easier to compare the results of the tests carried out in accordance with the European and Italian standards, the Ministerial Decree of 15 March 2005 includes a table showing the relationships between the various classes. Italian classes from 1 to 5, defined by the Ministerial Decree of 26 June 1984 for flammable materials, where class 1 is the least flammable and class 5 is the most flammable, can be compared with European classes A - F via a complex mechanism that not only takes into account the contribution to combustion of the material, but also, as mentioned above, the level of production of smoke and flaming droplets and/or particles.
Novowood ‘Fire Retardant’ is the first WPC in the world to be assigned class B-S1,d0 and therefore a reaction to fire class 1 for wall cladding.
Novowood ‘Fire Retardant’ is available on request, as an alternative to the standard Novowood formulation, for all products of the SKIN
TM line for façade cladding and on INFINITY
TM sunscreen products.
