According to the Department of Energy, nearly forty percent of all energy consumed in the United States is used for heating and cooling commercial buildings. Both the government and the code community have developed new energy efficient standards relating to the construction process to help reduce this energy drain. As an example, to reduce thermal bridging and improve a building envelope’s energy efficiency, continuous insulation over steel framing won't be an option.

In fact, it is the prescribed commercial construction standard by ASHRAE 90.1 2007 and IECC 2009. Even LEED certification programs rely on ASHRAE 90.1 as the baseline standard to set a project’s energy use benchmark.

accel-E™ Steel Thermal Efficient Panels meet or exceed these new requirements, and make it easier and faster to accomplish them.

That’s because the accel-E™ STEP wall system provides a more efficient, continuous insulation design – a design that overcomes many of the problems associated with thermal performance found in other wall assemblies such as:

1) Framing factor
2) Insulation performance
3) Air infiltration
4) Moisture impact

Through it's advanced frame design, proprietary process of fusing of cold-formed steel framing with EPS insulation, and pre-engineered panels delivered to the site ready for installation, theaccel-E™ STEP wall system is much more effective at improving the thermal performance of a building’s exterior envelope.

As the chart below indicates, the accel-E™ STEP system can improve R-value performance by as much as 60%.

To learn more about how the accel-E™STEP wall system can more easily meet new energy efficient standards for your next project, click on any of the four links above.

Framing Factor

The Problem:
Regardless of the material, framing members are not good insulators, but the accel-E™ Steel Thermal Efficient Panel is. Let's first look at the problem with traditional framing methods, and then learn how the accel-E™ system solves them.

Framing members can transfer heat and cold through thermal conduction. Site built framing structures can compound the problem through framing irregularities. In fact, framing members can account for up to 25% of a wall system.

Traditional approaches that involve insulating the cavity between the framing members cannot improve the thermal resistance of those members. Simply put, the more framing members in the wall assembly, the less effective the thermal performance of the wall.

This chart shows the impact of thermal transfer on a traditional steel stud cavity wall – reducing the R-value of R-19 batt to just R-6 as it relates to actual wall assembly performance.

The Solution:

accel-E™ STEP panels dramatically reduce thermal transference in three ways.

1) Advanced Frame Design

The framing members are specially designed to create a torturous path that dramatically reduces thermal conduction. Even in the case of metal cladding ties that penetrate the framing member, this torturous path will dissipate the heat or cold before it reaches the interior wall.

The torturous path design of the accel-E™ STEP panel prevents thermal bridging.

In a traditional steel stud cavity assembly, a brick tie can transfer heat or cold to the metal stud. Through conduction, this heat or cold is transferred to the interior space.

The torturous path design of the accel-E™ STEP panel quickly reduces the heat or cold from being transferred to the interior space.

2) A Fusion of Steel and EPS

During the manufacturing process, cold-formed steel framing is fused with EPS insulation to provide a truer, more rigid continuous insulation wall system.

Framing is fused inside EPS insulation, forming one continuous system.

3) A Pre-Engineered System

Because the accel-E™ STEP panel is pre-engineered, each panel is uniform, preventing framing irregularities while allowing for faster installation and a smoother, stronger wall surface.

Panels are pre-cut to each project's requirements and delivered to your building site ready for installation.