POLYhedric Life

When we think about polyurethane, we immediately link it to sandwich panels used in the building sector or refrigeration sector, or to polyurethane parts used in the automotive or sports industry. But, surprisingly, polyurethane has indeed many more applications than we think… and one of them has to do with the most important insects populating our planet, bees! Keep reading to find out more about this unexpected connection.

Meet Our Team

Marta has been working in Ekosystem for ten years and she is now Sales and Marketing Manager in our company. As such, she is a strategic component of our Team, responsible for sales strategies, negotiations, direct relationship with our customers and much more. Marta is not just Ekosystem Sales Manager, but a proper Bee expert!

In her free time, Marta enjoys a walk in the countryside and taking pictures at various inhabitants of the insect world. Her passion for photography is connected to her passion for bees: as a matter of fact, bees are her favorite subject for macro photography. She also likes learning everything about the world of bees and telling us interesting stories and facts abouth bees. Naturally, she is the best person to contact for any Sales enquiry but also for anyhting bee-related!

Polyurethane And Thermal Insulation

Did you know that the thermal insulation of polyurethane foam (PUR) is ten times warmer than wood (1,57 inch PUR = 15,75 inch of wood?) Polyurethane foam is indeed the best insulation among all thermal insulation materials. As a matter of fact, PU insulation has a very low thermal conductivity, which means that it needs minimum thickness to save a high amount of energy. Moreover, polyurethane maintains very good mechanical properties even at low densities and it provides excellent adhesion to other materials. All these features make it the most preferred choice when it comes to insulation.

Bees and Polyurethane: Polyurethane Beehives

But where is the link between the high insulating properties of polyurethane and bees? Beehives, indeed. More and more experts of the beekeeping industry have started to choose polyurethane beehives because they maintain a significant higher overall temperature than the traditional wooden hives. This great benefit given by polyurethane insulation becomes especially relevant in winter. Bees are extremely industrious insects, but during the cold season they spend most of their time inside their hive preparing for the warmer seasons. For this reason, it is extremely important that the temperature inside the hive is warm and kept constant. Research shows that polyurethane foam beehives are more efficient and profitable compared to wooden ones: they can keep the temperature constant, help provide better stability in humidity and, ultimately, contribute to the thermoregulation of the hive.

But that is not all…the proper insulation given by polyurethane is essential also in summer! Bees suffer high temperatures during the summer period, especially inside their hive, which is very narrow and closed. Thanks to their high ability to cooperate, bees have developed a strategy to fight the hot temperature inside their hive, a proper “ventilation system” which can be observed in the following picture.

However, that might not be sufficient… and this is why efficient insulation becomes fundamental for their survival!

So why choose polyurethane beehives? Lightweight, warm, durable, consistent, easy to assemble, robust: these are only some of the advantages provided by polyurethane beehives. It is not a coincidence that polyurethane is the material of choice for most insulation applications, even when it comes to specific and particular applications like this one.

Surprisingly, the use of rigid polyurethane in beehives can ultimately lead to increase in honey productivity. In short, the bee colony can manage the internal hive temperature with minimal effort thanks to the insulating properties of polyurethane, both in winter and in summer. Since they do not waste so much energy in keeping the temperature constant, bees can spend the same amount of energy on their main work which is nectar processing and brood rearing.

Get Started With Ekosystem Today

If you are just curious about our machinery and services, explore our website and find out more about our high pressure dosing units, low pressure dosing units, complete continuous lines or discontinuous production lines, and turnkey solutions for specific polyurethane applications.

References:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218839.2021.1999578

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