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Using molded expanded polystyrene or extruded expanded polystyrene instead of expanded polyurethane would provide R values of 7.00 or 10.00 instead of 12.50. INSULATION NEEDED TO GIVE 8-INCH CMU WALL SAME R VALUE AS INSULATED 6-INCH WOOD-FRAME WALL.
Insulation R values of various materials:
This article provides a Table of Insulation Values and Properties for Various Insulation Materials useful in procedures to measure or calculate heat loss in a building, defines thermal terms like BTU and calorie, provides measures of heat transmission in materials, building insulation design data, and heat loss in a building.
Page top photo by the author. Formula-R and Owens Corning which may be visible in this photograph of pink Styrofoam insulation boards are registered trademarks of Owens Corning and were photographed at a Home Depot® building supply center.
We also provide a MASTER INDEX to this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.
Table of Characteristics of Various Insulating Materials:air, fiberglass, masonry mateirals, mineral wool, cellulose, foam insulating board, UFFI, soil or dirt, vermiculite, wood, & most other building materials
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Notes to the Table of Building Insulation Properties
Because no amount of insulation can keep a drafty building warm, also review ENERGY SAVINGS PRIORITIES. See BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION for a discussion of measuring air leakage in buildings.
Also see HEAT LOSS INDICATORS (where is the building losing heat during the heating season, or gaining un-wanted heat during the cooling season),
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and see HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION for a guide to calculating heat loss (or gain) rates for buildings and building insulation.
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Continue reading at HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION or select a topic from closely-related articles below, or see our complete INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES below.
Or see INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE
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INSULATION R-VALUES & PROPERTIES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING INSULATION
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)![]()
The insulating value of soil or dirt or backfill previously discussed here has been moved to a new article found at SOIL R-VALUES
Question:
(Oct 26, 2011) MBM said:
Is there a field test for soil R-value? For example, bury a 100W bulb in a 1 gallon can and monitor the ground temperature one foot away, to the side or above depending on situation? In that instance the volume being heated goes up as the cube of the distance, making the math trickier than I can handle.
Reply:
The insulating value of soil or dirt or backfill previously discussed here has been moved to a new article found at SOIL R-VALUES
(Nov 1, 2011) Darrel said:
The R value of soil varies significantly depending on the type of soil, density and moisture content. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research Lab has done a great amount of research and have identified three classes of soils; silts and clay, sands and gravels and peat. The thermal conductivity, the reciprocal of the R value, for these soils in a thawed state, frozen state and varying moisture content, can be found in UFC 3-310-06, Figures 2.1 thru 2.6.
Question: what is the R-value of vinyl film?
4/15/2015 [email protected] said:
What is the R factor for vinyl film laminated to steel or aluminum sheet metals. Vinyl film if PVC and .008 inches thick. Metal is .024 inches thick.
Reply:
Thanks for the interesting question about the R_value of vinyl film, GlieBrock. I don't know the precise figure but am doing some further research. I would expect that the R-value of 0.008 in of vinyl is infintesimally small and would be overwhelmed by even the most modest occurrence of other heat loss or gain factors such as air movement or sun vs shade exposure.
Even vinyl siding, around 1/16' (0.175')to 3/32' (0.093') in thickness, hollow-backed, is rated only at about 0.61 (Coloradoenergy.org and other sources). Your thickness is 1/10 of that, putting the 'R' value in the ballpark of R=0.06 for 0.008' of vinyl. Reflective properties and the effects of the air film may be more important.
A vinyl 'curtain' (aluminized polyester laminated vinyl) 4.5 mil in thickness is rated at R 2.15 by the U. Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Handbook. Unclear was whether that figure considered air film effects or other effects. Given the siding R-value (for a much thicker material) I'm doubtful of this UGA value - or we may have misunderstood its context.
Looking at vinyl window films added to improve building energy performance, the improvements are more due to sunlight filtering and reflection than to the thickness of the material as an insulation itself. There the chief beneficial effect of the thin vinyl window film is its lowering of convection currents through the window glass and improvements in emissivity by changing the window's (or other surface's) emissivity by changing its reflective properties.
Consistent with this view, Steve DeBusk, writing on low-e glass vs window films at Buildings.com, states:
U-value and emissivity values vary for standard window films, depending on the type of film, with emissivity values ranging from 0.70 to 0.81, which means that 19 to 30% of the room’s heat is reflected back into the room in the winter to help reduce heating costs.
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