Insulation

Basics

• The use of materials to prevent the passage/spread/leakage of heat
• Can improve efficiency
• Can allow for ulra low/ultra high temperatures

Common Materials

Fiberglass

• Sleeve, 1/2" I'd, 1/4 wall -[1]
• 1/4" ID, 9/32 wall - [2]

Rock Wool

• Higher temperature resistance than fiberglass.
• $2/sf, 1" thick - Roxul - [3]
• Menards R15 batts, $1/sf - [4]

Ceramic Fiber

• 1", $3/sf - [5]

Aramid

• Fabric made of synthetic fibers roughly similar to nylon
• 1/4 I'd, 1/16 wall - [6]

Foamed Plastic

• Polyurethane Spray foams etc
• Easy to apply
• Fills cracks well
• Hard to remove

Aerogel

• Essentially a jell with the liquid being replaced with a gas
• VERY insulating
• Can be complex to make depending on type + materials etc

Vacuum Panel

• Aerogel but with a vacuum (or at least with (heavily) reduced pressure) instead of a gas inside the gel
• The best insulator, but insulation degrades due to gas intrusion

Rechargable Vacuum Panel

• Rechargable Vacuum Panel
• Similar to the above Vacuum Panel, but it has ports and tubing to allow for it to be plumbed to a vacuum pump system to keep it's vacuum strong
• No longer loses vacuum with time
• Does require plumbing and a vacuum pump thus adding complexity (and a small occasional power draw for the vacuum pump motor however)

Useful Links

• Wikipedia List of All sorts of materials and their thermal properties (all in a easy to use graph)
• Survey paper on insulation (English in specific chapters) (Broken Link?)
• super insulation panel technology may offer a 90% savings on heating and cooling energy requirements