Anyone using HFO blowing agents? Worth the premium?
Seeing more and more about HFO-based closed cell foams (Lapolla 4G HFO, BASF Walltite ECO, etc.). My distributor is pushing them hard as the future of closed cell.
Currently running standard HFC-245fa closed cell and it works great. The HFO upgrade would be about 15-20% higher material cost per board foot.
Arguments for HFO:
– Lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) – 1 vs 700+ for HFC
– Required by some green building specs (LEED, etc.)
– Some states may phase out HFC products
Arguments against:
– Higher cost passed to customers = harder to win bids
– Some early reports of slightly lower yield
– Limited long-term performance data
Anyone making this switch? Is the green premium actually translating to more business or just more cost?
We switched to HFO (Lapolla 4G) about 8 months ago. Honest review: yield is about 5-8 percent lower per set, handles slightly differently in cold, but cell structure is actually better – finer and more uniform. On the business side we have gotten 3 commercial jobs specifically because we marketed it as low-GWP foam. ESG-focused clients pay the premium. It is not a massive game changer but it is a real differentiator in the right markets.