Bresser, Palmloef
Business # 1998 Gothenburg
Over the past 15 years. plastics such as PE-X. PP. C-PVC. PB and PVDF have established their position also for hot water applications like industrial and domestic floor heating. drinking water installations. industrial piping and district heating. For example, roughly 8 % of all polyolefin pipe raw material in Europe in 1997 was used for hot water application and there continues to be a strong growth trend. The success vs. traditional materials has been mostly due to the ease of installation as well as the corrosion resistance and drinking water neutrality. especially for more aggressive water. Another a key success factor is the systems approach: a hot water system typically includes pipe. connection technology, all installation materials. company know-how and in most cases a raw material specification.
This paper gives an overview of the different plastic systems and the spectrum of application areas. The present situation and trends for the future are described for the system design and installation, the applied standardisation, the approvals by authorities and the market size. It is attempted to give a complete picture, but the focus of the discussions is on domestic installations and the raw materials PEX and PP-R which are the plastics most widely used here. Some comparisons to the traditional materials copper and steel are also made in the areas of environmental impact, market growth rates and advantages for the installer and end user.
