Insulating FAQs

Understanding Heat Transfer, Insulation and R- Value FAQs	Answers to questions
Q: What do I need to know about "HEAT TRANSFER"	> Everything gives off heat (even ice). > Heat will always move from a hot to cold. > Heat transfers in 3 ways (modes). Conduction - is the transfer of heat between two objects in contact. The transfer occurs as the fast-moving molecules of the hot object bump into the slower-moving molecules of the cold object. The fast molecules give up some of their energy, slowing down, and this energy goes into speeding up (and thus heating up) the slow molecules. Convection - A cool fluid or gas in contact with a warm solid will heat up through conduction. The warmer fluid or gas drifts into the cooler fluid, setting up a convective current. While circulating inside of a wall cavity, air removes heat from a warm interior wall, and convects it to the colder exterior wall, where it loses the heat. Radiation - In this case, heat moves through space without the assistance of a physical substance. This is how the Sun's heat reaches the Earth. Radiated heat transfers in wave form and penetrates (and in turn is given off by) any solid object. However, its waves pass readily through air and glass. > Of the three modes, radiation is the primary mode; conduction and convection are secondary and come into play only as matter interrupts or interferes with radiant heat transfer.
Q: How do standard forms of insulation work?	A: In homes and buildings the standard form of insulation used is known as 'Mass' or 'Bulk' insulation. 'Mass' or 'Bulk' insulation materials like fiberglass, cellulose, rock wool and Styrofoam, works by trying to " trap " the heat in the air pockets contained between the fibers in the product. Its effectiveness in trapping, and slowing down the heat moving through it, is measured by an 'R-Value' Air is considered a good insulator (especially at the price), but it is only effective in one aspect of heat transfer, CONDUCTION. R-Value is therefore simply a measurement of how well insulation performs against conductive heat loss. It represents resistance to one square meter of the insulation to a ONE DEGREE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE.
Q: What are some of the limitations of standard forms of R-Value rated insulations that you should be aware of?	1) An 'R-Value' measures the resistance to only ONE of the THREE modes of heat transfer, being the heat transferred by conduction. (It does not factor in the other two modes of heat transfer) 2) Once the air in 'mass' insulation becomes saturated with all the heat it can absorb, it's effectiveness is reduced. (The heat then simply transfers at normal pace through to the colder side) 3) If 1.5% humidity (moisture) is introduced, 'mass' insulation loses roughly 35% of it's R-value, due the fact that water is a much better conductor than air. 4) If 'mass' insulation is not properly installed (squashed in, compressed, gaps etc), it's certified R-Value and effectiveness is significantly compromised. 5) 'Mass' insulation only deals with the heat that has already passed through your wall, ceiling or roof. (It does not prevent heat from transferring through a surface, it only tries to cure the problem after the fact).
Q: Does a 'high rating' R-Value insulation save you money?	Yes, any form of insulation will be a contributing factor to saving you some money. R-Value rated 'mass' insulation is a minimum requirement in the New Zealand building code. The real question consumers paying for the power used to heat and/or cool their homes and businesses should be asking is this: How effective is an R-Value rated insulation at reducing my power bill? Refer to the next question to get the answer.
Q: How effective is an R-Value rated insulation at reducing my power bill?	Lets look at this question from a 'real world' perspective. Heat (thermal energy) will always move from a hot to cold and transfers in 3 ways (modes) - Conduction, Convection and Radiation. No matter how thick the R-Value rated 'mass' insulation you have installed in you walls or ceilings, they have almost no ability to block radiant heat energy (heat radiated in wave form). FACT: Heat transferred by RADIATION MODE can account for as much as 93 percent of summer heat gain and up to 75 percent of winter heat loss in conventional structures. See the chart that highlights heat transfer by mode through walls and ceilings. And, because up to 60% of heating and cooling efforts transfer in and out of a structure via the walls, ceiling and roofs.... The simple answer is:- There is a lot of money flying in and out of your walls and ceiling every minute of every day.
Q: How much money are you losing through installing only a 'MASS' type insulation product?	In New Zealand, maintaining a comfort zone in the home or work environment, is in the main achieved through the use of one or more of the many types of heating and/or cooling devices on the market. These devices add or reduce thermal energy to maintain a comfort zone, but they all do it at a price (cost of power, wood, coal etc). Maintaining a comfort zone with less reliance on heating and cooling devices can significantly reduce the daily amount one typically spends on powering these devices. To understand what heat transfer is potentially costing your household or business, lets view it from the perspective of potential savings:- For a household /small business A $1 saving per day = $30 per month = $360 per year = $3,600 over 10 years. A $2 saving per day = $60 per month = $720 per year = $7,200 over 10 years. A $3 saving per day = $90 per month = $1,080 per year = $10,800 over 10 years. For a commercial premises A $5 saving per day = $150 per month = $1,800 per year = $18,000 over 10 years. A $10 saving per day = $300 per month = $3,600 per year = $36,000 over 10 years. A $20 saving per day = $600 per month = $7,200 per year = $72,000 over 10 years.
Q: How can one prevent the money being spent on using heating and cooling devices from flowing out of ones home or business?	Remember, as much as 93 percent of summer heat gain and up to 75 percent of winter heat loss in conventional structures is transferred by way of radiation (heat radiated in wave form). The obvious answer to preventing the transfer of radiant heat energy is the addition of a 'radiant barrier'. To most a 'radiant barrier' conjures up an aluminum foil type insulation product, and as most are aware this type of product has a number of drawbacks when it comes to residential and office environments: - it can be costly to purchase and install. - it cannot be easily retro-fitted to walls. Despite the drawbacks, the importance of reducing the transfer of radiated heat energy cannot be over emphasized, or overlooked, when it comes to reducing costs to maintain a 'comfortable' room temperature.
Q: What advances have NASA made in in the area of heat transfer?	Space travel presented abnormal challenges that simply had to be faced and overcome by NASA. One of these challenges was in effectively insulating their spacecraft against the extreme heat experienced during re-entry into the atmosphere. The technology developed and used in the tiles and paints used on the space shuttle was the result of millions of dollars worth of research and development. The paint and tiles had to be able to deal with all three modes of heat transfer, and be effective in even the most extreme conditions.
Q: What was developed to reduce the transfer of heat through to the surface of the spacecraft?	The simple explanation is this: A hollow core ceramic microsphere with a reflective coating able to deflect heat. Sounds simple enough, but the technology involved in producing microspheres coated with a heat reflecting outer layer is extremely complex.
Q: How was the technology developed by NASA brought into the commercial sector?	Tech Traders, a USA based company, saw the potential of embracing the NASA technology to create an additive that gave ordinary paint heat deflecting capabilities. After working closely with NASA for over a year, the additive INSULADD® was formulated and commercialised.
Q: What is INSULADD®?	INSULADD® is an powder form additive, comprising of heat reflecting microspheres. When added to most standard paints, these microspheres work in preventing the transfer of heat through the paint.
Q: Is it possible to equate heat transfer in terms of money?	For the purposes of saving money, Heat Energy can be looked at from the perspective of its cost to generate or maintain. Most air conditioners have their capacity rated in British Thermal Units (BTU). Generally speaking, a BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound (0.45 kg) of water 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.56 degrees Celsius). A BTU is the equivalent 252 heat calories and a third of a watt-hour. To simplify things, imagine heat as BTU's being absorbed and emitted, each of which represents a small amount of your money.
Q: How does the INSULADD® additive prevent heat transferring?	First we need to think at the microscopic level. As the paint dries, the microscopic microspheres reside within the paint. Imagine a billiard table with three times the normal amount of balls glued randomly onto the table top. As energised units of radiated heat (BTU's) move through the paint (table), five things can happen to those energised heat units (BTU's). 1) Some 'heat units' miss the microspheres, and pass through to the surface. 2) Some 'heat units' hit microspheres, bounce around, and eventually pass through. 3) Some 'heat units' hit a microsphere or two, and deflect back out. 4) Some 'heat units' hit a microsphere and is immediately deflected back out. 5) Some 'heat units' hit microspheres, bounce around, and eventually pass back out. The additive in the paint has the ability to deflect 'heat units'. By deflecting a percentage of the radiating heat units prevents these units from transferring to a surface. If these 'heat units' do not reach the surface, they are not going to transfer through the surface, and will not be passing though to the insulation, and overloading it.
Q: Is it possible to equate heat transfer in terms of money?	An average home in New Zealand in a moderate winter zone would require about 5 million BTUs per month to heat and in excess of 7 million BTUs to heat in a severe winter zone. The same principle applies with air-conditioning load reduction in hot weather, and reflects as a corresponding drop in electrical consumption . To be able to economically (and easily) reduce this consumption by 20% would mean a reduction of one million to almost one and one half million BTUs per home, which is what INSULADD® is purposed to do. The average saving in power costs per house could be calculated as follows: Power Bill = $200 pm Heating and cooling portion = 40% ($80) 20% Reduction in the heating and cooling portion = $16 pm. The bigger picture looks like this:* Saving in year ONE = 12 x $16 pm = $192 Factoring in a 10% pa average increase in the cost of electricity: Saving in year FIVE = 12 x $23 pm = $276 Saving in year TEN = 12 x $37 pm = $444 TOTAL Savings over a 10 year period = $3,057 Cost of adding INSULADD for an average 150 sqm² house: Interior Walls - $300 Interior Ceiling - $300 Exterior Walls - $400 Exterior Roof - $400 Payback is around 3 years,* with additional savings being gained monthly thereafter. *Results may vary from house to house.
Q: Does Insuladd® have an ' R-Value ' rating?	A: There is no common ground between radiation energy transfer and conduction transfers because they are separate heat transfer modes. As a result, comparing R-Value of ceramic insulating coatings with the R-Value of conventional mass insulation is not possible. An 'R-Value' is probably one of the most misunderstood values in construction circles today.
Q: Is it possible to compare apples with apples when it comes to different insulation technologies?	A: Because there is no common ground between radiation energy transfer and conduction transfers (because they are separate heat transfer modes), an R-value comparison is not really comparing apples with apples. You may however be interested in reviewing a test by Geosciences to calculate the equivalent “R-value” derived from the addition of INSULADD® into ordinary paint. Geoscience calculated an equivalent “R”of “6”. (Please also see the article relating to R-Values). Tests have been performed on 1" thick materials with a known R-Value and then compared with the same material coated with INSULADD® reinforced paints. The difference between the two is equal to an average of 35% reduction of heat transfer.
Q: What capabilities does Insuladd® provide?	1. Insuladd® has a high capability to repel radiant heat, thereby blocking transfer on average of 95% of the heat load created as a result of all three types of radiation: - Ultraviolet radiation (UV) represents 3% of the heat load. Insuladd® blocks up to 99% of UV radiation. - Visible light (high-frequency radiation) represents 40% of the heat load. Insuladd® blocks up to 92% of visible light radiation. - Infrared radiation (IR) (low-frequency radiation) represents 57% of the heat load. Insuladd® blocks up to 99% of IR radiation. 2. Insuladd® additionally has the ability to guard against the transfer of non-reflected heat. Ceramic microspheres in paint can also slow airflow through the surface therefore blocking all three modes of undesired heating (Radiation, convection and conduction). 3. Insuladd® additionally has high emissivity, allowing it to shed excess heat which was able to remain on its surface.
Q: What savings can you expect as a result of adding Insuladd®?	Real life Energy Surveys find that the energy savings realized from the inclusion of Insuladd into interior house paint ranges from 10% to 22%, depending on the type of construction, location, and exposure of the home. Bear in mind that an energy savings increase of only 10% in actual heat flux (heat loss) however, can equate to a much greater increase in actual energy savings, due to the increased amount of time that a product like Insuladd helps a home or workplace interior remain in the “human comfort zone”. The potential energy cost savings Insuladd® can initiate makes good investment sense when applied at time of painting.
Q: What are some really good reasons to add Insuladd® additive when painting?	In the Winter when interior walls and ceilings absorb a great deal of the heat that you generate with your heating system, this heat will now be bounced back and retained. It will not flow outward through the walls and ceilings of your home, into the colder outside air. Your savings in heating related energy consumption will be significant! In Summer the reverse applies. Extended air-conditioning running times can be reduced, resulting in big savings in cooling related energy consumption requirements. In a chicken shed, the simple addition of INSULADD® to the surface of the roof is resulting in an 8^oC reduction in interior heat, on a 40^oC day. ............................................ Every structure in New Zealand, whether a home or business, can reduce their consumption of energy by supplementing their outdated existing insulation with new technology Insuladd® paint on additive. Not only will significant cost savings be achieved by New Zealand energy consumers, but additionally the spin-off reductions in CO₂emmissions and use of non renewable natural resources in New Zealand will be significantly impacted. The optimum time to apply Insuladd® is during your regular painting cycle (usually every 7 to 10 years). If one misses the opportunity to apply Insuladd® when painting, one misses the opportunity to benefit from many years of comfort (but without the HIGH energy cost).