What's the best thin insulation available?
I need to find thin insulation (5-6mm) suitable for sticking (using waterproof glue) to a gently curved surface. This is in a situation where energy is in very short supply so every little improvement helps. I expected to be able to find PUR/PIR closed cell foam in roll form but no luck.
Ah. If you key in 'depron' on an ebay sarch, someone is selling depron sheet (expanded polyproplyene) in small quantites. 3mm and 5mm thick. Use water based contact adhesive (copydex?)
Polystryene sheet is also available, at builders mercahnts, as are cork sheet and bubble wrap, Mock not, these all work.
you can strip standard EPS foam with a hot wire or indeed a wood saw if you don't mind a bit of mess.
I was trying to spec some thin insulation recently and a structural engineer mentioned something called "Tri-Iso Super 9", about which I know nothing other than it's pretty expensive, so I didn't go any further - others here may know something about it?
David
You can get celotex down to 12mm. I take it this is still too thick?
Christian
It's shit, avoid.
Sorry, to elaborate: It relies on being fitted precisely in the middle of two 1" closed air pockets in order to work; it is thin material but not an insulating medium for use in limited spaces. It works mainly by limiting heat transfer by radiation but then claims to "seal roofs against wind and damp, whilst retaining ventilation" without mentioning that where the outer pocket is ventilated the product will perform less effectively since heat will be lost by convection instead of radiation.
Maybe have a read between the lines in the brochure:
IMO, avoid foil based insulation systems, other types (foam based, celotex etc) are more likely to achieve the claimed insulation performance over the life of the property.
Wouldn't a foil component (IOW not relying totally on the foil) improve the effectiveness of a thin insulating medium?
'Fraid not, certainly not if in contact with other materials. Foil is an effective vapour barrier but achieves heat blocking by inhibiting radiation only. If it is in contact with any material (insulator or otherwise) the heat loss is by conduction and not radiation so there is no benefit.
Ah yes, I see your point. Thanks.
My mate converted his loft, and wanted to preserve the view of the original beams on the ceiling. To avoid filling the gaps completely he had to use the Tri-iso Super 9 stuff. Seems to have worked - the loft is toasty and the beams look good. He said the stuff was pricey but glad he paid.
Couldn't you spray it with foam then sand down to the required shape ?
This is primarily for conductive insulation at 'common' temperatures? For space heating rather than keeping an individual warm?
I have no idea of its U-value or whether its more gimmick than benefit, but Wickes have 'foil coated' bubble wrap type stuff in rolls for putting behind rads, under floors, dry lining, etc.
How about flooring underlays?
IanC
That's an excellent idea too.
Even 3mm of foam is a heck of a sight better than 9" of brick.
Wrong. Thermal resistance (R-value) is thickness divided by the thermal conductivity of the material: R = t/k.
- for 3mm foam: t = 0.003m, k = 0.03 W/mK typically, hence R = 0.1 m^2K/W approx.
- for 9 in. brick: t = 0.225 m, k ~ 1 W/mK, hence R = 0.2 m^2K/W approx.
So 9 in. of brick is about twice as good as 3mm of foam, so far as steady state heat loss is concerned.
Compressed Dr Evil, it's so dense it allows nothing through, not even a clue.
Back when I laid the underfloor heating in the kitchen, my wife sourced some extremely thin insulation (about 3-5mm) that claimed to be as good as 50mm polystyrene. I'll see if I can find the sample and get the details off it.
In the meantime someone else may recognise the stuff, it has two smooth sheets of grey plastic (may be polyethylene or polypropylene) with a foam sandwich.
The one I got has silver foil each side of the plastic. Called Airtec from Screwfix and was b****y useless.
Umm. let's rephrase that rather sloppy sentence.
"Even 3mm of foam on 9" of solid brick is better than no foam at all"
The remark was prompted by the fact that lining just such a wall with
3mm cork tiles - and in fact it may actually have been 4.5" brick - made a HUGE difference.
The very best insulator is polyisocyanurate board. Its precisely twice as good as polystyrene and costs about 4 times as much. Its sold as celotex.
Its called a load of old bollocks.
Not quite. The best insulator is a vacuum. It's just nobody has found a way of encasing a building in it yet, though I'm sure Doctor Dickhead/IMM will detail some place where it's been done.
Ok the best COMERCIALLY AVAILABLE insulation material...ok?
Umm no, you can buy a vacuum as an insulator commercially. Thermos.
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