What does “ETICS” means?

The ETICS is a building system that consists of a combination of certified materials that are applied externally on a building in order to improve its energy efficiency.

Advantages

  • The ETICS provides improved energy efficiency to the building, that also offers a “thermal comfort” feeling, ie small temperature fluctuations in the house, during the winter or summer.
  • The ETICS input achieves an effective reduction in the required heating and cooling energy. As a result, we get instant benefit from direct savings (lower electricity bills, lower petroleum orders, etc.), and also, system maintenance costs decrease through time.
  • ETICS ensures perfect sealing on the facades and protection of the building from external humidity and any bacteria/mold reproduction.
  • With the ETICS we achieve to keep a long-lasting nice appearance of the building as the coating colors on the facades do not peel off and do not crack.
  • The ETICS ensures a reduction in the total maintenance cost of the building
  • The increase in the value of the property obtained by the ETICS, is indisputable, as, according to the new regulation “KENAK” (= Regulation on the Energy Performance of Buildings), an energy certificate is required for each commercial deal involving the property, which directly affects the commercial value of the property.

What options do we have for the ETICS?

The systems of all companies (Thrakon, StO, Kelyfos, Bauer, Knauf, etc.) are made up of similar materials. Each company has developed different technologies by giving in some of them special features that are applied depending each case.

The materials required for the application of the ETICS are the following:

  • Insulating panels of polystyrene, in various forms such as expanded (EPS), extruded (XPS), including graphite etc. and in various thicknesses
  • Polystyrene sheets’ welding glue for the surfaces to be applied
  • Mechanical support plugs for polystyrene slabs on the surfaces to be applied
  • Base coat (plaster)
  • Glass grid
  • Primer
  • Finishing coat (white or colored)
  • Color (if no colored finish is selected)

 

Watch out these tips!
Understanding the problem and proper material selection
Sooner or later, we have to face several problems which depend on various factors such as the age of the building, the quality of its construction, its location, its exposure to climatic phenomena, its orientation etc.
The right choice of construction solutions and materials is really important, because any financial investment made, is not negligible and any wrong choice may not bring the expected result.
Materials
As we mentioned before, all the certified systems have similar and good quality materials. So, choosing a certified system is a guarantee for a good result.
Also, we should pay attention to the material choice, particularly to anything about polystyrene and plaster use, because each problem is unique, and requires a different solution. Despite the fact that the cost is a very crucial parameter, the appropriate choice of materials without wasting money is utmost important.
Company – Workshop
The third but no less important thing, is to choose the right company for the ETICS implementation.
The selected technical company should have certain features in order to ensure that the final result will be certified and guaranteed.

  • Have the experience and the specialized equipment (hygrometers, thermal cameras etc.) in order to be able to understand and find out the building’s problems, possible thermal bridges, no apparent areas with humidity, etc. and propose the appropriate solutions to provide the best solution to each problem, at a low cost.
  • Have experience in selecting, using and forming the right materials, in a way that creates also, an attractive architectural effect.
  • Providing certified technicians from each ETICS system vendor. Certification is crucial, as it demonstrates the specialization of the workshop in the application of the systems, especially nowadays, that non-professional technicians are working, using materials of dubious quality.

Warranty

A very important aspect of company selection is the provision of a signed warranty for both the materials and the application of the thermal insulation composite system.
And also, the warranty is not just a piece of paper, but a contract that certifies that the work has been done in accordance with the rules of Art and Science, so, the owner should pay attention to the guarantee of a well-established company.

Cost

The cost of the thermo-wall is about 30-40 euros per square meter (depending on whether there are increased insulation requirements, particular building problems, complex architecture, etc.).
Prices lower or higher than the range of 30-40 € should be carefully checked.