Swisspearl Planea

Swisspearl Planea is a naturally dried gray fiber cement board with an opaque, strong surface coating. The face is matte and smooth. Planea is designated AC 90, ASTM 1186 and EN 12467. It is a Largo-range panel sold in the US for commercial rainscreen façades and appears among the fiber cement rainscreen panels that the range covers.

Planea shares a data sheet with Zenor, a large-format fiber cement panel that also has an opaque coating.

The opaque coating covers the gray board completely. The base is gray, the surface is smooth and even, and the optic is opaque and matte. The matte smooth surface presents clear, intense colors, and a façade in Planea can be built from strong accent colors or from closely related color blocks.

The US delivery program includes eleven colors. The color family has bright yellows, greens and reds alongside whites, light grays and a strong black.

• Midnight 231
• Jungle 532
• Cactus 531
• Skylight 131
• Igloo 932
• Snowflake 930
• Sunrise 831
• Sunset 832
• Ruby 334
• Crimson 333
• Dragon 332

• Nominal thicknesses: 6, 8 and 12 mm.
• Nominal widths: 46.38 and 49.21 in.
• Nominal lengths: 98.82 and 120.08 in.
• Thickness tolerance (up to 0.79 in): +/- 0.024, +/- 0.032 and +/- 0.047 in for the three thicknesses.
• Width tolerance is +/- 1.18 in and length tolerance is +/- 2.0 in.
• Shipping weight averages 2.54, 3.40 and 5.08 lb/ft² at 6, 8 and 12 mm.
• Dry density is at least 96.7 lb/ft³, with an average of 106.1 lb/ft³ (ASTM 1186).

In the Largo format, Planea is listed as a rectangle at 2510 × 1250 mm and 3050 × 1250 mm, both 8 mm thick. Widths and lengths of Planea in Largo can be selected freely up to a maximum usable size of 3050 × 1250 mm. Planea is also available for interior use in the Largo format.

The fixing methods listed for the Largo format of Planea are level laying, inverted cover, visible fastening with rivets or screws, and invisible fastening with Sigma 8 Pro or gluing. The Planea product page links to rear-ventilated façade systems, visible fasteners and invisible fasteners.

Planea's average ambient bending modulus of elasticity is 12.0 GPa. Planea flexural strength: 3669 psi wet average and 2610 psi minimum. Moisture content is 2 to 7 percent, and moisture movement is 0.1 percent. Planea is categorized Type A, class IV (ASTM 1186).

Fire results for Planea are Class A under ASTM E84 (does not ignite), A2-s1, d0 under EN 13501-1, and Passed for both NFPA 285 and the ASTM E136 750 °C test. Planea passes the ETB-Guideline (1985) hard body and soft body impact tests, for balconies.

Hygrothermal values for Planea start with a water absorption of 14.6 percent. Moisture movement is 0.1 percent. Frost resistance is 100 cycles (RL greater than 0.75, ASTM 1186). The board tolerates -40 to +80 °C air temperature. Conductivity is 0.5 W/mK and expansion is 0.01 mm/m °C.

Vapor transmission tests give a Z-value of 5.21 GPa m² s/kg, Sd of 1.01 m and a μ factor of 651.

UV color resistance (ASTM G155, Xenon arc) is a ΔE below 5.0 at 3000 hours and at 5000 hours. The footprint over stages A1 to C4 totals 16.9 kg CO₂-eq (0.18 biogenic, 16.7 fossil). The facility holds ISO 9001 certification, and the board is CE marked under European Regulation 305/2011.

The fiber cement in Planea is made from cement, cellulose, water, synthetic fibers and air, with pigments added for color. Each Planea board is rolled, pressed, cut, cured and colored under continuous quality control. Planea is produced at one of nine Swisspearl facilities in Europe, which have been asbestos-free for more than two decades. The materials and chemicals in Planea comply with REACH. The Largo format of Planea falls under the Cradle to Cradle Certified Full Scope certification at the Bronze level, version 4.1.

For Planea, perforations, engravings of geometric shapes, patterns, logos or images, and free forms and cutting are offered. Custom colors for Planea can be made in NCS, RAL or Pantone shades. Special colors are possible within the Planea color line, as well as Carat and Nobilis.