How "0007" Insulation Works
All Insulation foil is known as a thermodynamic foil, or, some refer to it as a RB (radiant barrier), but the most common term is RF (reflective foil). In our opinion it is unfortunate that the industry has refered to insulation foil as reflective foil . The reason we feel this way is very simple, and that is, although most good foils are very shinny, and to some degree reflect light and radiant heat away from themselves, this fact is not that important. Most insulation foils have an antiglare or antishine paint on one side, coloured usually blue. green or even pink, and it is recommended that the painted side goes up, ie towards the heat source or sun. This recommendation is correct of course but begs the question - If the foil relys on reflection to work why is it recommended that the NON reflective surface face the heat source/ sun? That defies logic, yes it defies logic simply because it's not logical.
So where did it all go wrong?
Well it went wrong when the industry referred to insulation foil as reflective foil.
The simple fact of physics is that reflection of heat has very little to do with the way insulation foils work.
The next statement I'm about to make takes a bit of getting our heads around , but once understood takes all the mystery, contradiction and ill logic out of the subject.
Good quality insulation foil eg "0007" simply REFUSES to RELEASE RADIANT HEAT from it's shiny surface. This is referred to as the emissivity rating or the ability to release or emit radiant heat. "0007" has an emissivity of only 3%, in other words "0007" stops 97% of radiant heat coming into your shed, home, or patio.
Examples of this low emissivity principle used in everyday activities-
Take for an example a common 20lt hot water urn at a function. look at the urn closely - there is no thick insulation around the urn to prevent the heat escaping it is simply polished metal sometimes chrome. Even when the water inside reaches almost 100 deg you can place your hand very close to the outside of the urn and feel very little heat radiating from it, UNTIL! you actually touch it, and to your surprise the surface is very hot. Why did you have to actually touch the urn before you knew it was hot? because the engineers that designed the urn made sure the outside surface had a LOW EMMISIVITY so as not to lose heat, therefore keeping the water hot.
The opposite example is a black pot belly stove. Even if the fire is out and the stove is only warm you can feel the heat radiating from it one or two meters away, why? because the engineers designing the stove made sure it had a HIGH emissivity, hence the flat black paint.
So what is the point of this information?
The point is that "0007" radiant barrier insulation foil has a very LOW EMISSIVITY 3% and therefore once you place "0007" in your roof ,walls, or doors even if you glue it to the hot tin surface "0007" insulation will still stop 97% of the unwanted radiant heat entering your shed, garage, home, or patio
How will "0007" shed insulation affect your comfort level in the shed? it means that along with a bit of ventilation your shed can be as much as 12.5 degrees cooler.
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Radiant Barrier's in the world today (extract taken from an American website)
While radiant barriers have been around for longer than most imagined, the road to acceptance and popularity was not an easy one. But with the determination of energy-efficiency focused engineers, architects, builders and the reflective insulation industry itself, scientifically supported benefits of radiant barrier have become widely available and accepted by governmental agencies like ENERGY STAR®, builders, and consumers alike as a cost effective way to permanently reduce utility bills and increase the comfort of homes and buildings.
The traditional mass insulation industry spent millions of dollars in marketing and educating consumers on the need for an R-Value rated insulation product and since radiant barriers do not have R-Values (because they work entirely different than traditional insulation), consumers were swayed from purchasing and using reflective radiant barrier insulation.
However, radiant barriers and reflective insulation continued to gain the interests of architects and engineers who became convinced of their effectiveness and began specifying them in their building and design plans.
With the confidence and support of architects and engineers, word started spreading quickly in the insulation industry of the benefits of radiant barrier products and very well known testing facilities and research organizations conducted their own radiant barriers studies in order to quantify the results builders and the like were claiming as a result of the use of radiant barrier and reflective insulation products. The Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Florida Solar Energy Centre, and Texas A&M University, to name a few, have proven substantial benefits radiant barriers provide.
Shed insulation diy hope you benefited from this information and will see the benefit "0007" insulation will be in your shed by improving your comfort level in summer and in winter
All Insulation foil is known as a thermodynamic foil, or, some refer to it as a RB (radiant barrier), but the most common term is RF (reflective foil). In our opinion it is unfortunate that the industry has refered to insulation foil as reflective foil . The reason we feel this way is very simple, and that is, although most good foils are very shinny, and to some degree reflect light and radiant heat away from themselves, this fact is not that important. Most insulation foils have an antiglare or antishine paint on one side, coloured usually blue. green or even pink, and it is recommended that the painted side goes up, ie towards the heat source or sun. This recommendation is correct of course but begs the question - If the foil relys on reflection to work why is it recommended that the NON reflective surface face the heat source/ sun? That defies logic, yes it defies logic simply because it's not logical.
So where did it all go wrong?
Well it went wrong when the industry referred to insulation foil as reflective foil.
The simple fact of physics is that reflection of heat has very little to do with the way insulation foils work.
The next statement I'm about to make takes a bit of getting our heads around , but once understood takes all the mystery, contradiction and ill logic out of the subject.
Good quality insulation foil eg "0007" simply REFUSES to RELEASE RADIANT HEAT from it's shiny surface. This is referred to as the emissivity rating or the ability to release or emit radiant heat. "0007" has an emissivity of only 3%, in other words "0007" stops 97% of radiant heat coming into your shed, home, or patio.
Examples of this low emissivity principle used in everyday activities-
Take for an example a common 20lt hot water urn at a function. look at the urn closely - there is no thick insulation around the urn to prevent the heat escaping it is simply polished metal sometimes chrome. Even when the water inside reaches almost 100 deg you can place your hand very close to the outside of the urn and feel very little heat radiating from it, UNTIL! you actually touch it, and to your surprise the surface is very hot. Why did you have to actually touch the urn before you knew it was hot? because the engineers that designed the urn made sure the outside surface had a LOW EMMISIVITY so as not to lose heat, therefore keeping the water hot.
The opposite example is a black pot belly stove. Even if the fire is out and the stove is only warm you can feel the heat radiating from it one or two meters away, why? because the engineers designing the stove made sure it had a HIGH emissivity, hence the flat black paint.
So what is the point of this information?
The point is that "0007" radiant barrier insulation foil has a very LOW EMISSIVITY 3% and therefore once you place "0007" in your roof ,walls, or doors even if you glue it to the hot tin surface "0007" insulation will still stop 97% of the unwanted radiant heat entering your shed, garage, home, or patio
How will "0007" shed insulation affect your comfort level in the shed? it means that along with a bit of ventilation your shed can be as much as 12.5 degrees cooler.
******************************************************************************
Radiant Barrier's in the world today (extract taken from an American website)
While radiant barriers have been around for longer than most imagined, the road to acceptance and popularity was not an easy one. But with the determination of energy-efficiency focused engineers, architects, builders and the reflective insulation industry itself, scientifically supported benefits of radiant barrier have become widely available and accepted by governmental agencies like ENERGY STAR®, builders, and consumers alike as a cost effective way to permanently reduce utility bills and increase the comfort of homes and buildings.
The traditional mass insulation industry spent millions of dollars in marketing and educating consumers on the need for an R-Value rated insulation product and since radiant barriers do not have R-Values (because they work entirely different than traditional insulation), consumers were swayed from purchasing and using reflective radiant barrier insulation.
However, radiant barriers and reflective insulation continued to gain the interests of architects and engineers who became convinced of their effectiveness and began specifying them in their building and design plans.
With the confidence and support of architects and engineers, word started spreading quickly in the insulation industry of the benefits of radiant barrier products and very well known testing facilities and research organizations conducted their own radiant barriers studies in order to quantify the results builders and the like were claiming as a result of the use of radiant barrier and reflective insulation products. The Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Florida Solar Energy Centre, and Texas A&M University, to name a few, have proven substantial benefits radiant barriers provide.
Shed insulation diy hope you benefited from this information and will see the benefit "0007" insulation will be in your shed by improving your comfort level in summer and in winter