Understanding Commercial Thermal Panels

May 15, 2018

Everyone understands that thermal panels protect and insulate spaces. However, not many people have a clear idea of how they work. The new thermal panels coming on the market are virtual “designer” insulation, ideal for all types of business. It’s well worth a little time to explore how these fabulous new panels work, and why they’re so important to products you use every day.

A thermal panel is typically an insulated foam core, covered on both sides and joined by a structural material, like board or steel. The structural component provides its strength, ensuring that the insulation is sealed and secured.



The foam provides an excellent barrier against heat transfer. That’s why refrigerated areas stay cold. Otherwise, cold materials would absorb heat. The thermal panels ensure that heat transfer is minimal.

Modern thermal panels are very efficient. They’re so efficient, in fact, that the demand for refrigeration is reduced and the temperature variation in cold stores is usually less than a single degree. A good example of modern thermal panels of this kind is the widely used PIR (polyisocyanurate) cored panels.

A variation on this theme is the EPS-FR (Expanded Polystyrene – Fire Retardant) thermal panels. These lightweight panels provide both cold storage protection and fire retardant properties. Using internal and external steel skins, they can obstruct fire and preserve internal temperatures effectively. These thermal panels are standard fittings for all types of storage environments.

A critical part of any thermally controlled environment is its doors, which are more complex in insulation terms. They must provide insulation and seal properly to ensure temperature control is maintained because they’re the access point to cold stores. Cold storage doors may be very similar to ordinary doors, or complex doors with precision seals. These doors are sealed externally and internally for good cold storage management.

Modern cold storage and temperature controlled environments can be very complex. For example, a single cold store may contain multiple temperature controlled environments, requiring multiple configurations of temperatures.

The new approach to thermal insulation is custom design. You can have a complex cold store designed from scratch, catering for all your different cold store needs, different temperatures and types of goods. This is a type of precision engineering, requiring a thorough knowledge of commercial storage requirements, temperature controls and systemic storage needs.

A typical design may include:

• industrial wall dividers
• factory partition systems
• fire resistant insulated panels
• PIR insulated panels
• freezer wall panels

Modern design can deliver a complete thermally insulated environment, tailored to the needs of the storage facility while providing fire protection.

Thermal Panel Solutions is your supply, installation and design service for thermal panels in Sydney. We’re here to deliver the top-quality thermal panel products and expert guidance you need to achieve your insulation goals. Call us on (02) 9132 4211 or contact us online.