Any opinions on Bubble Insulation?

eamon11

hi Folks,

I want to insulate the roof and came across this stuff. It comes in rolls 1.2m x 27m. It is basically foil-air bubbles-foil. He claims it is equivalent to 100mm kingspan rigid insulation board. It sounds a bit too easy.

Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks

exaisle

"He claims....."

'nuff said.

gutteruu

Its called alububble and there is no chance its equivalent to kingspan. There are foil insulation that have multi layers of foil that have a great U-value but nothing with bubbles.

eamon11

thanks gutteru,

I notice the site does not give any kind of thermal values whatsoever

gutteruu

If you click on usuage there are some details there. I used it on my shed. Its fine for sheds to catch condensation dripping etc but maybe someone who knows more about insulation can tell you how good/bad it is.

Thermal Resistance1.455m²K/w (with cavities)
Thermal Conductivity0.125m²K/w (no cavity)

Polar wizard adventure

Its pretty much a scam. Go to greenbuildingadvisor.com and search for "bubble". It gives the full details.

rolion

Hi,

I've used this stuff here in my attic and even is not finished, the draft and the warmth created already is amazing.

Also, very easy to do it in DIY, just needs attention to detail:
-covering the joints /sides properly with their tape.
-covering the attic vents holes so that the air can flow between the trusts up and down
-laying out the foil so that air not circulating inside the house/rooms and inside in the attic.

Painfull to work at the corners but well worth it...

Enjoy it.

eamon11

thanks lads,

that stuff looks good rolion but its very pricey

rolion

eamon11 wrote: »

thanks lads,

that stuff looks good rolion but its very pricey

Eamon...you are doing it once.
And trust me that it makes the difference already: comfort and cost saving.

Regards

Calahonda52

re alu bubbles etc

Whoever wrote this remembers from National school that heat is transferred vis conduction, convection and radiation so it dreams up some sentences with the words used.


Anyway there is a serious message buried in the last line of the blurb
Thirdly, beacuse ALUBUBBLE is fitted with an airspace on either side the foil, it prevents heat loss through conduction,

This stuff have been around in different guises over the years and the insulation qualities claimed were based on lab tests where the foil was clamped in a box between two layers of air that itself is trapped so NO air movement

http://www.ecowiseinsulation.net/roof-insulation-super-foil-sf19.html
shows plasterboard over batten over the foil.
Also read the performance claims, its not about U values
the air behind the pb can't move so it will half do the insulation job.

The critical thing is that the air must be stopped from moving on either side of it.
both of you guys don't seem to have achieved that.


"ALUBUBBLE helps reduce that transfer of heat in a number of ways. The low emmitance foil surface blocks up to 97% of the radiation. This is very easy to demonstrate yourself. Turn on a ring on your cooker to a low level and place your hand 6" above it. You'll feel the heat immediately. Now hold a 12" square sheet of kitchen foil miday between your hand and the hob and you'll notice that most of the heat is reflected back away from your hand. ALUBUBBLE works in the same way. The two foil surfaces reflect heat away. The bubbles of trapped air between the two foils help reduce heat loss through convection. Thirdly, beacuse ALUBUBBLE is fitted with an airspace on either side the foil, it prevents heat loss through conduction,"

rolion

@Calahonda52

You are correct.
However, sometime an end user is forced to take a decision based not only on performace (otherwise, everyone of us will drive luxury SUVs) but on cost and other factors.
My trusted supplier recommended me that item,based on this review here. No related business with any of them, just asked for 3 options: cheap, medium and expensive.Which one is better and fitting my budget !?
My budget stretched to cover that item and that's all so far.

I will come back and post feedback next March !

Thanks.