I've just taken delivery of some of this yesterday. Its to paint the ceiling of my extension which has a flat roof and its where my over wintered plants live.
It was originally used to insulate the space shuttle.
I've just taken delivery of some of this yesterday. Its to paint the ceiling of my extension which has a flat roof and its where my over wintered plants live.
It was originally used to insulate the space shuttle.
I hope this will be useful to some of you!
If you do want any, its cheaper on Ebay.
Reminds me of only fools & horses with the glow in the dark paint......Be careful
Sounds interesting, particularly for flat roofs where you can't increase the insulation levels. I have put survival blankets on the top of my flat roof, covered with gravel to hold it down.
How much insulation must depend on the thickness of the paint. I would very much doubt that there would be a 15% saving from one coat of paint
Dave, I think it works that same as a space blanket, by reflecting the radiated heat back, so the thickness should not be an issue. Something that reflects radiation is not technically insulation, is it? Insulation is something that prevents conduction of heat.
simon wrote:Dave, I think it works that same as a space blanket, by reflecting the radiated heat back, so the thickness should not be an issue. Something that reflects radiation is not technically insulation, is it? Insulation is something that prevents conduction of heat.
I was going by the detailed spec which I found online, which said the granules were tiny honeycombs which trapped air. To me that is insulation and not reflected, therefore the thickness would be important.
That is strange, because I red something saying it created a radiant barrier and I was prepared to believe that because you are not likely to get much of a conductive barrier from a thin layer of paint. If you are right then I am less prepared to believe their claims.
Dave Brown wrote:Sounds interesting, particularly for flat roofs where you can't increase the insulation levels. I have put survival blankets on the top of my flat roof, covered with gravel to hold it down.
How much insulation must depend on the thickness of the paint. I would very much doubt that there would be a 15% saving from one coat of paint
Dave, ive been a built up flat roofing specialist for 30 years & i can tell you that putting blankets on your flat roof will not gain you any extra heat as the moisture & wet will trap in and make it colder. When your roof is recovered you can either have the timber removed & insulate below, there are several products to choose from. The ultimate way is to turn it into a warm insulated roof useing P.U.R insulation. this way the origonal decking can be left on, covered with a vapour barrier, then say 90mm P.U.R, then a good quality sbs roof system. This will outlast any fancydan paint. karl.
A lot of new buildings now have 'green roofs'. The insulation is often on the OUTSIDE and then covered with a carpet of turf-like material often consisting mainly of sedums. There is very little soil so the weight is minimal, just a mulch of gravel. They are said to keep buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer. I don't know a great deal of the theory but used to look after some. Once a year we would remove unwanted seedlings, willow, buddleja etc and apply a slow release fertiliser. That was it! In dry weather it all dried up a bit but regenerated with moisture. Also a wonderful wildlife haven away from cats and predators.
simon wrote:Dave, I think it works that same as a space blanket, by reflecting the radiated heat back, so the thickness should not be an issue. Something that reflects radiation is not technically insulation, is it? Insulation is something that prevents conduction of heat.
I was going by the detailed spec which I found online, which said the granules were tiny honeycombs which trapped air. To me that is insulation and not reflected, therefore the thickness would be important.
Actually Dave under those circumstances it wouldn't. Simon is spot on.
If the granules are honeycombs which bounce air back into the room then the only layer that would have that effect is the one exposed to the air.
One layer or 25, it wouldn't make a difference. You're not building up layers that can't easily be penetrated, like you would with rolls of polystyrene for example, but creating an impenetrable barrier to stop hot air escaping.
It's a similar principle if you were trying to stop a laser beam. A mirror would reflect the beam away but several layers of darkened glass would slow it down and reduce the penetration as it passed through each layer. The honeycombs don't create pockets of insulation like bubblewrap does, they deflect the heated molecules back without significantly absorbing any of the heat energy.
This technology has loads of applications. The surfaces of the Stealth Bomber uses it to stop radar detection by bouncing the waves away in many different angles simultaneously rather than bouncing it back to the receiver.
Lotus glass uses the same principle to stop water and dirt sticking to it. Most newly built skyscrapers use this to avoid having to pay to have the windows cleaned so high up.
If you watch this video and imagine the petri dish is the room and the water is the hot air it will show you roughly how it works. No penetration, no residue. It's more repulsion than insulation.
It's nanotech and it's being used in many different ways including being used as a coating for Porsche cars to stop then getting dirty and they are experimenting with it on windscreens to possibly make windscreen wipers a thing of the past.
Interestingly, this whole idea came from plants and the Lotus Lily in particular. Certain plants have developed this coating to allow them to photosynthesise more effectively. Fungi, spores and smaller plants can't land on top of them and grow, therefore blocking the light, because the plant doesn't allow water to settle on its surface. If water can't land on it then neither can dirt because all the dirt is washed off by sticking to the water which is then repelled.
This shows how incredibly effective the technology is:
Freaky Star Trek stuff if you ask me but I wouldn't mind a toilet made from it.
