Currently on the market a variety of floor heating insulation materials, mainstream thermal insulation products XPS and EPS dispute is also exceptionally fierce. Consumers are difficult to make decisions. So in the end how to choose? After reading this article hoping to help you.

I. What is XPS, what is EPS?

Extruded plastic board, also known as XPS board, extruded polystyrene foam board, one of the most mature insulation materials on the market today. Polystyrene board, also known as EPS board, benzene board, expandable polystyrene foam board.

II. Raw material differences

XPS raw materials and finished products, XPS is extruded products.

EPS raw materials and finished products, EPS is a moulded product

Polystyrene foam is divided into expanded EPS and continuous extruded XPS， which means that both extruded panels and polystyrene panels are produced with polystyrene resin as raw material. Due to different molecular chains, the raw materials present different physical properties.

III. Different production processes

XPS production process, the need to add blowing agent, beware of harmful blowing agents

Modular foam moulding and laminating process, EPS foam is more environmentally friendly by water vapour

Extruded boards are continuously extruded and moulded, and in the extrusion moulding process different catalysts need to be added, which is what HVAC companies call blowing agents, and this involves environmental friendliness. Bad boards are basically gas, methane, freon, and industrial alcohol as blowing agents, and the boards can be really harmful. Good boards use carbon dioxide as a blowing agent, but the production equipment and process requirements are extremely high. Polystyrene boards are moulded, the blowing agent is water vapour, and subsequent drying is required, so environmental protection is a little more secure.

IV. Thermal insulation performance

The airtightness of XPS cells is that of EPS, so the water absorption is lower than that of EPS

XPS has a perfect closed-cell honeycomb mechanism, the structure of the closed-cell rate of more than 99%, with very low water absorption (almost no water absorption) and thermal conductivity.EPS insulation board closed-cell structure is not as good as XPS, water absorption is relatively poor, do floor heating insulation needs to be waterproof film or the surface of the self-skinning process. The two materials are very similar, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, flame retardancy, temperature and weather resistance, specific heat capacity, linear expansion coefficient, impact strength, dimensional stability, apparent density and so on are very little difference.

V. Scope of application

XPS extrusion board and EPS polystyrene board is basically regarded as half-mother (same raw materials and different production process), so many applications have a certain degree of mutual substitutability.

EPS polystyrene board is widely used in construction, thermal insulation, packaging, refrigeration, daily necessities, industrial casting and other fields. In the building energy saving is mainly used in the wall exterior insulation, interior insulation, floor heating.

XPS extruded panels are widely used in building roof insulation, underfloor heating insulation, steel structure roofing, building wall insulation, building floor moisturising, plaza floor, airport runway insulation layer, high-speed railway roadbed and so on.

VI. Which kind of underfloor heating to choose

The quality of insulation materials and construction is an important part of the decision of the quality of floor heating. The material is not good will also be harmful volatile impact on the health of the family. Worried about the quality of the material is not guaranteed, workers do not do a good job of craftsmanship, choose EPS module products. After all, the material is integrated, the coil is also standard. If the process, materials and environmental protection are guaranteed on the choice of XPS board, which is a set of materials board, mesh, film, clip, aluminium foil tape is indispensable.