The Spray Polyurethane Foam insulation and roofing industry is currently undergoing an important step in the evolution of its materials technology—a progressive phase-out of the use of Hydrofluorocarbons-, or HFC-based, systems and adoption of Hydrofluoroolefins-, or HFO-based, spray foams. The shift is a change in blowing agents and represents a move toward innovative, fourth generation spray foam systems. The significance cannot be overstated as HFO blowing agents, which are comprised of unsaturated organic compounds of hydrogen, fluorine and carbon, are an environmentally friendly technology. In a nutshell, HFO-based spray foams offer zero ozone depleting (ODP) potential and move the global warming potential (GWP) of spray foams from a factor of more than 794 to, in some cases, just 1.1
Notably, HFC and HFO blowing agents are third and fourth generation spray foam technologies, respectively, which followed the use of Chlorofluorocarbons-, or CFC-based spray foam systems (first generation technology used between the 1950s and 1980s), and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons-, or HCFC-based spray foams (second generation technology used in the 1980s and 1990s). Generally speaking, the progression of blowing agent technologies represents an ongoing movement toward options that have each been successively better for the Earth. The latest push toward HFO technology is supported strongly by the spray foam industry and its manufacturers, but it began with international and national regulation, and now continues on a state-by-state basis.