Swisspearl Zenor

Swisspearl Zenor is a large-format fiber cement panel with an opaque coating. It is in the Swisspearl Largo range and is sold in the US as a commercial rainscreen panel with a curated architectural color range. It is one of the fiber cement rainscreen panels of the range and shares its technical sheet with Planea.

Zenor carries AC 90, ASTM 1186 and EN 12467.

The opaque coating gives simple, even color fields, with less visible cement texture than the translucent color lines. The base board is through-colored in a shade similar to the surface color, and the surface is smooth and even with an opaque, matte optic. An optional transparent high-resistance (HR) layer can be applied over the opaque finish. It adds scratch and weather resistance and protection against heavy contamination and graffiti.

The current US color codes span muted neutrals and stronger colors. Sixteen codes are listed, with numbers only and no color names.

• 15015, 11115, 11006, 23057
• 35154, 33106, 35005, 41055
• 51101, 63077, 65061, 65126
• 67007, 67014, 67159, 69055

• 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 in, +/- 0.032 in and +/- 0.047 in.
• Tolerances on width and length are +/- 1.18 in and +/- 2.0 in.
• The average shipping weight at the three thicknesses is 2.54, 3.40 and 5.08 lb/ft².
• Minimum dry density is 96.7 lb/ft³ and the average is 106.1 lb/ft³ (ASTM 1186).

Only the Largo format is listed for Zenor. It is a rectangle in three sizes, all 8 mm thick: 2500 × 1250 mm, 2510 × 1250 mm and 3050 × 1250 mm. Widths and lengths of Zenor in Largo can be selected freely up to a maximum usable size of 3050 × 1250 mm.

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

Zenor has a bending modulus of elasticity of 12.0 GPa at ambient conditions. The wet average flexural strength of Zenor is 3669 psi and the minimum is 2610 psi. Moisture content runs from 2 to 7 percent and moisture movement is 0.1 percent. Zenor's ASTM 1186 category and class are Type A, class IV.

Reaction to fire: A2-s1, d0 (EN 13501-1). Surface burning: ASTM E84 Class A. Passed results are recorded for NFPA 285 and ASTM E136 on Zenor. Zenor has passed hard body and soft body impact testing to the ETB-Guideline (1985), for balconies.

Zenor is rated for air temperatures from -40 to +80 °C in use. Its thermal expansion coefficient is 0.01 mm/m °C and its thermal conductivity is 0.5 W/mK (ISO 8301, EN 12667). Frost resistance is 100 cycles.

Water absorption after 24 hours at 105 °C and 24 hours in water is 14.6 percent. Moisture movement is 0.1 percent. For water vapor transmission (ISO 12572) the Z-value is 5.21 GPa m² s/kg, the Sd value is 1.01 m and the resistance factor μ is 651. UV color resistance under Xenon arc weathering (ASTM G155) is a ΔE below 5.0 at 3000 and 5000 hours. Zenor totals 16.9 kg CO₂-eq for A1 to C4, made up of 0.18 biogenic and 16.7 fossil. The facility holds ISO 9001 certification and the board is CE marked.

The fiber cement in Zenor is made from cement, cellulose, water, synthetic fibers and air, with pigments added for color. Each Zenor board is rolled, pressed, cut, cured and colored under continuous quality control. Zenor 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 Zenor comply with REACH. The Largo format of Zenor falls under the Cradle to Cradle Certified Full Scope certification at the Bronze level, version 4.1.

For Zenor, perforations, engravings of geometric shapes, patterns, logos or images, and free forms and cutting are offered. Custom colors for Zenor can be made in NCS, RAL or Pantone shades. Special colors are possible only in the Carat, Nobilis and Planea lines, not in Zenor.