Use
Most north Europeans spend 80-90 per cent of their time indoors. At Troldtekt, we believe that acoustic comfort and a healthy indoor climate without harmful chemicals are of key importance in buildings.
Most people choose Troldtekt because of the acoustic properties of our products, but actually get a multifunctional ceiling or wall solution that also significantly boosts comfort levels and the indoor climate. In other words, Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool has a number of properties that create value for building users.
1. Superior acoustics
The acoustics of a room can have a huge impact on our well-being and concentration. Hard and smooth surfaces like concrete and plaster throw back the sound waves, and the long reverberation time results in an echoey soundscape.
By contrast, materials with an open surface structure – like Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool – guarantee superior acoustics with short reverberation times. In fact, a construction based on Troldtekt with a mineral wool backing absorbs up to 90 per cent of the sound, while a hard concrete surface absorbs only 1-2 per cent.
Troldtekt is therefore a popular choice in most types of buildings, including schools, offices, sports centres, restaurants, cultural venues and private homes.
2. Healthy indoor climate
A sustainable building must be environmentally, financially and socially sustainable, which includes ensuring a healthy indoor climate for users. Poor air quality and very low or high humidity levels can affect productivity in workplaces and learning in schools and lead to more sick days.
In addition to ensuring superior acoustics, Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool absorbs and releases moisture. This helps to ensure the right level of humidity in a building. The air quality will be perceived as being higher in a room where the materials absorb moisture – and this can reduce the need for ventilation. The Danish Technological Institute has found that Troldtekt acoustic panels can be installed in rooms with a moisture level of up to 98 per cent (+/- 2 per cent) combined with temperatures up to 40°C.
As part of the Cradle to Cradle certification, all the substances that are used to make Troldtekt acoustic panels have been analysed down to 100 ppm. It has thus been documented that Troldtekt is free of substances which are harmful to humans or the environment. Moreover, Troldtekt has been granted a number of certificates which document the contribution made by the acoustic panels to a healthy indoor climate.
3. Documented sustainability
For a building to be sustainable, it has to have a healthy indoor climate. As described in the previous section, Troldtekt contributes a number of valuable properties in this respect. During use, Troldtekt further contributes to a healthy operating economy, as the acoustic panels require no maintenance after installation. Also, they have a long useful life, which means that they can ‘live on’ in connection with the refurbishing or repurposing of buildings. The panels can also be painted without it negatively affecting the acoustic properties.
The indoor climate and life cycle costs are examples of areas where Troldtekt contributes positively to the leading sustainable building certifications (DGNB, BREEAM, LEED, WELL etc.).
4. Effective fireproofing
Wood is an organic and flammable material, but every single wood fibre in a Troldtekt panel is encapsulated and protected by non-flammable cement. Troldtekt panels therefore have low flammability and only emit low heat during a fire, and almost no smoke.
Troldtekt acoustic panels are fire-classified under the European standard EN 13501. Under the standard, Troldtekt acoustic panels are classified as B-s1,d0, which means that the material contributes to a fire to a very limited extent. In practice, it means that Troldtekt panels are only weakly combustible and emit little heat and smoke. Troldtekt A2 panels are non-flammable, and have been classified as A2-s1,d0.
5. Natural strength
Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool panels combine the strength of cement with the breathability of wood. On the one hand, the panels are extremely robust and dimensionally stable – even in humid environments such as swimming pools. There is no warping over time. However, thanks to their flexibility, you can easily saw and screw into them during installation.
Moreover, the combination of wood and cement ensures that Troldtekt panels can absorb and release moisture, have a long lifespan and are documented free of harmful chemistry – which are all key advantages during use.
6. Flexible design options
Troldtekt can also make a difference to the aesthetic comfort of a building. Different colours, structures, edge designs and suspension systems allow considerable freedom to design scalable ceiling and wall surfaces using Troldtekt. This goes both for the classic Troldtekt acoustic panels and for the new series of design solutions, which come with milled grooves or expressive patterns.