Nearly 4.5 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey rely upon First Energy Corp. to supply them with electric power. That’s why the company places a high priority in protecting the equipment it uses to maintain its nuclear generating plants. First Energy recently completed a major renovation of a welding shop at the Perry Nuclear Generating Station northeast of Cleveland.
“They had typical bagged ceiling insulation and it looked like a mess,” said Jim Mali, project manager for Mascaro Construction Co., the Pittsburgh-based contractor hired to renovate the building. Additionally, the building’s aging roof had several leaks.
In addition to repairing the roof, the Mascaro team also installed the HIGH-R® Rigid Panel Plus Insulation Solution to provide a cleaner, climate-controlled space to store a sophisticated machine that moves concrete-encased spent fuel rods.
“The intent is to store it in a dry, clean environment and that’s what we tried to do… make a dry, clean environment for them,” Mali added.
Unlike traditional insulating methods where sheets of urethane are installed between trusses just below the decking of a metal building roof, HIGH-R Rigid Panel Plus Insulation solution’s panels were mounted nearly 40 feet above the floor onto clips attached to the purlins at the base of the trusses. The white, washable panels provide a finished look that reduces overall lighting requirements. The cavity between the purlins and the roof decking was then filled with blown fiberglass, allowing for R-40 or greater insulation.
“It adds a lot to the looks of the facility,” Mali said. “Everybody seems to be very satisfied with it.”
The HIGH-R insulation solutions have produced energy savings in a wide variety of metal building installations including office and retail buildings, religious, educational and recreational facilities, manufacturing and food processing plants and warehouses.
For more information about the HIGH-R Insulation System, visit www.high-r.com.
