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How Foil Acts as an Effective Home Insulator

How Foil Acts as an Effective Home Insulator

You’ve probably seen foil blankets used in emergency aid kits to keep patients warm, and this is because they have outstanding insulating properties, while only being a thin material. In order to achieve the same effect using a more traditional material such as wool, the blanket would need to be much thicker. The reason why foil blankets are carried in emergency aid kits is because they are small and light, very portable, but work exceptionally well at keeping people warm.

The same technology has been developed to insulate your house, still using foil, but combining multiple layers. The usual materials for home insulation include rock wool or glass fibre, and a fairly thick layer needs to be rolled out in your roof, loft, wall, or even under the floor. Superfoil is much thinner but can insulate your home in the same way.

Understanding Superfoil

To begin with, superfoil comprises of multiple layers of foil, joined together as a superquilt. This design helps the insulation properties because of air pockets between each layer, which give it some heat conduction qualities. However, the real trick with using foil as an insulator comes about because of the material’s radiative attributes.

This particular quality was documented by NASA, who use foil on their spacecraft to prevent radiant heat loss. Superfoil recognises the fact that it can combine prevention of radiant heat by also serving to avert the conduction of heat by using multiple layers of thin sheets of foil, but with much less thickness than other kinds of insulation material.

Fitting Into Small Spaces

Multi foil insulation could really work for you if you need to insulate a restricted space, and more homeowners are turning to it as the technology has been improved for the domestic market. It is known as a ‘radiant barrier’ and was patented as early as 1925. Since that time developments have seen the introduction of superfoil, which is very effective in small cavities.

Superfoil insulation is well known as being a smart way to minimise heat loss in the winter, and also ensure that your home doesn’t get too hot from the sun’s rays in the summer. If positioned correctly in your attic, multi-foil insulation can help lower your energy bills as heat can be trapped in the house during the colder months, and in essence the opposite will happen in the warmer months when the foil will reflect the heat coming in from outside.

Installing Superfoil

The most important thing with superfoil is to select the correct thickness and to place it in the space in your roof or walls. If you are unsure about how thick your superfoil insulation needs to be, then please contact us for a consultation, and we’ll be able to advise you.

Please give us a call on 01636 639 900, and we’d be glad to have a conversation with you. SuperFOIL are open between 9am and 5pm on weekdays. You can also email us on [email protected] or send us a message through the contact form on our website.

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