an interesting insulation solution

scottyt · #1 (**permalink**) 03-31-2010

okay first i have no interest in this stuff, just say a commercial on tv

back story

years ago i saw a tv show on a company who builds hurricane resistant houses out of sea containers. they basicly cut the side out of two containers, then placed them about 10 feet apart and bridged the gap with wood. it built a house that measured 40 by 26. they roof was trusses and they skinned the house in sheet metal. they used a spray on insulating paint that had a an r value of like 10 in a thickness of 20 mils or so.

i just saw a commercial for a similar ( maybe the same ) insulating paint system. it is water based and can be painted on the inside of a boat hull to insulate the boat, they claim about a 30 % savings in energy on a house. granted they dont list it for boat use but what the heck. they also have an epoxy based system so adhesion should not be an issue. it is listed as being anti mold as well. it is also designed to be rolled on, is low voc so it should be easy to apply where you need it with out trying to spray in the confines of a boat

here is the companies web site

Nansulate Home and Industrial Thermal Insulation and Asset Protection Coatings

Architeuthis · #2 (**permalink**) 03-31-2010

If it is similar to other such products cost will be an issue but I've considered it for places were I would not ever want to run wires or currently have wires or hoses. In my boat that is not many places, a small can of it would do.

scottyt · #3 (**permalink**) 03-31-2010

why no wires or hoses, its only a paint?

hellosailor · #4 (**permalink**) 03-31-2010

I'm always skeptical about miracle products when their web site has a prominent "INVESTOR RELATIONS" button on it. Doubly so when they talk about nanotechnology (a buzzword designed to impress investors) when they just mean "there are small particles in our product".

Architeuthis · #5 (**permalink**) 03-31-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottyt

why no wires or hoses, its only a paint?

It will void any ratings the hoses and wires have.

Disturb it, either by having the hoses and wires move naturally or by removing or installing new wires and it has to be re-applied.

and I'm doubtful. here is a cut and paste:

There are coating manufacturers who claim that their ceramic microsphere or hollow glass sphere modified roof and wall coating/ paint can “insulate” a roof or wall. In some cases, the manufacturer actually assigns an “R-value” or “K-value” to their product. Some coating manufacturers go as far as to tout the ceramic material they use as “the same ceramics used by NASA on the Space Shuttle” and even use the image of the Space Shuttle in their literature. How can they make the claim of an “R-value” or “K-value”, it is simple…

The manufacturer will expose two samples to a heat lamp. One of the samples is coated with their ceramic modified coating/ paint, the other sample is not. After a period of time, a heat reading is taken from the back of both samples. Invariably the coated sample shows a lower heat gain than the non-coated sample. Here’s where they make their claim… The question is then asked, how much insulation would be required to reduce the heat gain through the un-coated sample to register the heat reduction of the coated sample. The answer given is an assumption as to what the “R-value” or “K-value” is.

Ask yourself this question, “if ceramics are such good insulators, why is there a handle on a coffee cup?”

The answer, “they are not good heat insulators.”

One may argue, if there are not good heat insulators why are they used on the NASA Space Shuttle?

Ceramics are used on the shuttle because they absorb heat and evenly distribute it, not because they are a good insulator. What keeps the interior of the shuttle from becoming an oven during reentry is a blanket made of Nomex fibers between ceramic tile and the interior of the shuttle. The Nomex fibered blanket is the actual insulation, not the ceramic tiles. This was never more apparent than with the Columbia shuttle disaster.

scottyt · #6 (**permalink**) 03-31-2010

okay so people have a problem with this tech. all i know is the insulating world is changing, look at aerogels. i did say i have no interest, but i would like to see a real world test of this stuff. i would bet a paint with lots of micro ballons in it would insulate but who knows how well.