The system ensures the long term effectiveness of insulation and the structural durability of buildings; enabling them to last for many years into the future.
You can read more about the benefits of building airtightness on Pro Clima’s website. The study entitled Pro Clima New Zealand: Airtightness & Moisture Management is also very informative in dealing with various building physics. It contains practical examples and case studies.
Airtight structures are energy efficient. They ensure that heat insulation functions optimally. This reduces heating costs and CO2 emissions; protecting the climate and your wallet alike.
Air-sealing helps to protect against mould, rot and other structural damage. These types of problems are often the result of indoor air penetrating the thermal insulation during winter, which causes large amounts of condensation.
Air-sealing prevents mould; reduces air dryness during winter; and keeps living spaces cooler for longer during summer.
INTELLO PLUS enables buildings to achieve exceptional levels of airtightness, up to and surpassing the Passive Houserequirement of 0.6 ACH.
INTELLO PLUS is an intelligent membrane. By sensing humidity variations, it is capable of adapting its molecular structure, in order to allow or deny the passage of moisture as required. This modern building technology provides maximum protection from structural damage and mould; even in the most complex of building structures, and extreme environments.
| INTELLO PLUS Properties | |
| Thickness | 0.2 mm |
| MVTR-value (resistance to permeability) | 1.25-125 MNs/g (humidity variable) |
| MENTO Properties | |
| Thickness | 0.45 mm |
| MVTR-value (resistance to permeability) | very low |
SOLITEX MENTO has a higher resistance to UV exposure than SOLITEX EXTASANA, making it ideal for rooftop applications.
SOLITEX MENTO can be exposed to the Australian elements for up to 180 days when applied to rooftops.
SOLITEX EXTASANA is highly moisture permeable, and does not vary its permeability like INTELLO PLUS does. It readily allows moisture to escape the building’s wall cavity, but does not allow external water or rain drops to get in (similar to say, a Gore-tex rain jacket).
SOLITEX EXTASANA is also thicker than INTELLO PLUS, and has a high resistance to UV exposure; making it more durable, and ideal for external applications.
The membrane can be exposed to the Australian elements for up to 180 days when applied to building walls.
| EXTASANA Properties | |
| Thickness | 0.6 mm |
| MVTR-value (resistance to permeability) | less than 0.75 MNs/g |
EXTORA is a super-adhesive, highly-durable tape. It is used to fix EXTASANA (external) membranes together, and to seal the membranes against window sills and other membrane openings or penetrations.
It is waterproof; UV stabilised for up to 90 days; and can even be applied to cold and/or wet surfaces.
ORCON is a multi-purpose adhesive with exceptionally high cohesion properties. It is suitable for bonding all types of Pro Clima membranes and will also adhere well to adjoining structural components such as concrete slabs and timber framing. It is generally applied at the base of the internal walls to fix INTELLO PLUS membranes to the building slab.
Various air-sealing grommets and other solutions are available to cater for electrical wires, plumbing fittings and various other membrane penetrations.
The Pro Clima Instaabox is the ideal solution to be used when sealing light switches, power-points and other wall systems without a service cavity.
When there are no vapour barriers in place; in summer, this risks the formation of condensation on the inside of the internal wall; and in winter, this risks the formation of condensation on the inside of the external wall. Both of these situations can lead to mould, rot and further damage to the building structure.
Blocking the passage of air and vapour at the internal wall works well in winter, as moisture is never allowed to enter the wall cavity. However, in summer, moisture content that enters from outside infiltration air becomes trapped inside the wall cavity and is unable to escape through to the inside of the building.
Similarly, blocking the passage of air and vapour at the external wall works well in summer, but traps moisture content inside the wall during winter.
The solution is found in INTELLO PLUS and its permeability variable membrane. The membrane is generally closed to vapour diffusion during the winter (lower humidity levels) and open to vapour diffusion during the summer (higher humidity levels). This combines the two positive cases above, to create an optimised system solution.
INTELLO PLUS varies its permeability levels depending on the humidity of its environment. Allowing diffusion of moisture from outside through to inside in summer, and preventing excessive moisture from entering your walls during winter.
