Insulate Magazine Issue 17

The only independent insulation industry trade magazine
Insulate Insight
New forms of Insulation
Something to Reflect on
Marin Oxley Charts the rise of reflective insulation
A
fter running 26.2 miles and receiving your
well-earned finisher’s medal, you usually
receive a goody bag after completing
your marathon. Along with the T-shirt, snack
bar and muscle-relieving pain gel, you will find
a shiny, highly reflective space blanket. This
helps to keep you warm after you have stopped
running – so why not use the sametechnology
to keep your house warm as well?
Testing the Performance
When the first reflective insulation products hit the
shelves of builder’s merchants many years ago, there
was limited certified testing, so some of their original
performance claims might have been a little optimistic.
Testing houses in both the UK and Europe also
achieved varying results after analysing the products
in the same way as they normally would traditional
insulants.
So while the test houses and manufacturers agreed
on a standard testing methodology for thermal
performance, a process which took a few years,
some companies opted for in-situ evaluation.
It soon became apparent that it was extremely difficult
to build ‘standard houses’ repeatedly and ensure
that thermal performance and weathering conditions
remained absolutely identical, so as to evaluate the
true performance of these new reflective insulants
with 100% accuracy. This caused market confusion
and ultimately led to many architects, specifiers and
contractors not selecting reflective insulation for their
projects.
Thermal Performance Standard
After several rounds of evaluation with some of the
best testing houses for insulation’s thermal performance,
in 2012 Europe agreed on a standard thermal
Europe is currently
developing a harmonised
European Product
Standard for reflective
insulation which is due to
be published shortly. Once officially
issued, manufacturers will then be able
to CE-mark their product to encourage
increased sales across Europe.
performance testing standard, BS EN 16012: 2012
+A1: 2015 Thermal insulation for buildings – Reflective
insulation products – Determination of the declared
thermal performance. (http://bit.ly/2bramb2).
There was now a defined methodology for direct
thermal comparison of reflective insulants. This, together
with the emergence of the first reflective insulation
certificates from the British Board of Agrément
(BBA) over 17 years ago, increased the credibility of
the industry and provided consumers with the reassurance
they required, and sales started to increase
significantly during this period.
Radiation of Heat
All insulation products work by reducing heat flow, in
one or more of three ways: conduction, convection or
radiation. Heat always flows from the hot side to the
cold side.
Reflective insulation’s key feature is, of course, to limit
heat flow by radiation. The radiated energy is invisible
and causes no rise in temperature until it hits a
surface, where it is absorbed and causes the object
to get warmer. For instance, radiative energy from the
sun will pass through double-glazing and once it hits
an object inside the conservatory it starts to heat it
up.
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