Categories
Insulation may be categorized by its composition (material), by its form (structural or non-structural), or by its functional mode (conductive, radiative, convective). Non-structural forms include batts, blankets, loose-fill, spray foam, and panels. Structural forms include insulating concrete forms, structured panels, and straw bales. Sometimes a thermally reflective surface called a radiant barrier is added to a material to reduce the transfer of heat through radiation as well as conduction. Following is a table of materials, most of which have been used for insulating buildings.
| Material | m2·K/(W·in) | ft2·°F·h/(BTU·in) | m·K/W |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacuum insulated panel | 7.04 !5.28–8.8 | 3000 !R-30–R-50 | |
| Silica aerogel | 1.76 !1.76 | 1000 !R-10 | |
| Polyurethane rigid panel (CFC/HCFC expanded) initial | 1.32 !1.23–1.41 | 0700 !R-7–R-8 | |
| Polyurethane rigid panel (CFC/HCFC expanded) aged 5–10 years | 1.1 !1.10 | 0625 !R-6.25 | |
| Polyurethane rigid panel (pentane expanded) initial | 1.2 !1.20 | 0680 !R-6.8 | |
| Polyurethane rigid panel (pentane expanded) aged 5–10 years | 0.97 !0.97 | 0550 !R-5.5 | |
| Foil faced Polyurethane rigid panel (pentane expanded) | 45-48 | ||
| Foil-faced polyisocyanurate rigid panel (pentane expanded ) initial | 1.2 !1.20 | 0680 !R-6.8 | 55 |
| Foil-faced polyisocyanurate rigid panel (pentane expanded) aged 5–10 years | 0.97 !0.97 | 0550 !R-5.5 | |
| Polyisocyanurate spray foam | 1.11 !0.76–1.46 | 0430 !R-4.3–R-8.3 | |
| Closed-cell polyurethane spray foam | 1.055 !0.97–1.14 | 0550 !R-5.5–R-6.5 | |
| Phenolic spray foam | 1.04 !0.85–1.23 | 0480 !R-4.8–R-7 | |
| Thinsulate clothing insulation | 1.01 !1.01 | 0575 !R-5.75 | |
| Urea-formaldehyde panels | 0.97 !0.88–1.06 | 0500 !R-5–R-6 | |
| Urea foam | 0.924 !0.92 | 0525 !R-5.25 | |
| Extruded expanded polystyrene (XPS) high-density | 0.915 !0.88–0.95 | 0500 !R-5–R-5.4 | 26-40 |
| Polystyrene board | 0.88 !0.88 | 0500 !R-5.00 | |
| Phenolic rigid panel | 0.79 !0.70–0.88 | 0400 !R-4–R-5 | |
| Urea-formaldehyde foam | 0.755 !0.70–0.81 | 0400 !R-4–R-4.6 | |
| High-density fiberglass batts | 0.755 !0.63–0.88 | 0360 !R-3.6–R-5 | |
| Extruded expanded polystyrene (XPS) low-density | 0.725 !0.63–0.82 | 0360 !R-3.6–R-4.7 | |
| Icynene loose-fill (pour fill) | 0.7 !0.70 | 0400 !R-4 | |
| Molded expanded polystyrene (EPS) high-density | 0.7 !0.70 | 0400 !R-4.2 | 22-32 |
| Air-entrained concrete | 0.686 !0.69 | 0390 !R-3.90 | |
| Home Foam | 0.686 !0.69 | 0390 !R-3.9 | |
| Fiberglass batts | 0.655 !0.55–0.76 | 0310 !R-3.1–R-4.3 | |
| Cotton batts (Blue Jean insulation) | 0.65 !0.65 | 0370 !R-3.7 | |
| Molded expanded polystyrene (EPS) low-density | 0.65 !0.65 | 0370 !R-3.85 | |
| Icynene spray | 0.63 !0.63 | 0360 !R-3.6 | |
| Open-cell polyurethane spray foam | 0.63 !0.63 | 0360 !R-3.6 | |
| Cardboard | 0.61 !0.52–0.7 | 0300 !R-3–R-4 | |
| Rock and slag wool batts | 0.6 !0.52–0.68 | 0300 !R-3–R-3.85 | |
| Cellulose loose-fill | 0.595 !0.52–0.67 | 0300 !R-3–R-3.8 | |
| Cellulose wet-spray | 0.595 !0.52–0.67 | 0300 !R-3–R-3.8 | |
| Rock and slag wool loose-fill | 0.545 !0.44–0.65 | 0250 !R-2.5–R-3.7 | |
| Fiberglass loose-fill | 0.545 !0.44–0.65 | 0250 !R-2.5–R-3.7 | |
| Polyethylene foam | 0.52 !0.52 | 0300 !R-3 | |
| Cementitious foam | 0.52 !0.35–0.69 | 0200 !R-2–R-3.9 | |
| Perlite loose-fill | 0.48 !0.48 | 0270 !R-2.7 | |
| Wood panels, such as sheathing | 0.44 !0.44 | 0250 !R-2.5 | 9 |
| Fiberglass rigid panel | 0.44 !0.44 | 0250 !R-2.5 | |
| Vermiculite loose-fill | 0.4 !0.38–0.42 | 0213 !R-2.13–R-2.4 | |
| Vermiculite | 0.375 !0.38 | 0213 !R-2.13 | 16-17 |
| Straw bale | 0.26 !0.26 | 0145 !R-1.45 | 16-22 |
| Papercrete | 0260 !R-2.6-R-3.2 | ||
| Softwood (most) | 0.25 !0.25 | 0141 !R-1.41 | 7.7 |
| Wood chips and other loose-fill wood products | 0.18 !0.18 | 0100 !R-1 | |
| Snow | 0.18 !0.18 | 0100 !R-1 | |
| Hardwood (most) | 0.12 !0.12 | 0071 !R-0.71 | 5.5 |
| Brick | 0.03 !0.030 | 0020 !R-0.2 | 1.3-1.8 |
| Glass | 0.024 !0.025 | 0024 !R-0.14 | |
| Poured concrete | 0.014 !0.014 | 0008 !R-0.08 | 0.43-0.87 |
Read more about this topic: Building Insulation Materials
Famous quotes containing the word categories:
“Kitsch ... is one of the major categories of the modern object. Knick-knacks, rustic odds-and-ends, souvenirs, lampshades, and African masks: the kitsch-object is collectively this whole plethora of “trashy,” sham or faked objects, this whole museum of junk which proliferates everywhere.... Kitsch is the equivalent to the “cliché” in discourse.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“all the categories which we employ to describe conscious mental acts, such as ideas, purposes, resolutions, and so on, can be applied to ... these latent states.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“All cultural change reduces itself to a difference of categories. All revolutions, whether in the sciences or world history, occur merely because spirit has changed its categories in order to understand and examine what belongs to it, in order to possess and grasp itself in a truer, deeper, more intimate and unified manner.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)