Vandweller Forum

According to BW Reflectix is NOT an insulator.


I believe that any shiny reflector is useful to reflect heat trying to come in through a window.  Perhaps a shiny tint is a worthwhile window reflector and privacy coating.

When I stand near a window on a cold day, I can feel the cold.  If the window  is covered by draperies, I do not feel the cold.  

According to BW Reflectix has an R value of about 1.

Carpets do not have more insulating values than Reflectix, however, I would prefer having a carpet between myself and a steel wall or floor. A carpet with a little space behind it is somewhat insulating.

This carpet "insulation" concept came to mind:

Cover the entire interior living space with carpet.
1 piece of carpet for the floor with a pad beneath.
BTW Only a small portion of the floor is walked on and a narrow piece of plywood is needed to make the walkway flat.  For the floor areas beneath the bed and cabinets etc., perfect flatness is not needed.
1 piece for each side
1 piece for the ceiling.  An adhesive would be required to attach the carpet to the ceiling.
Several pieces as a movable barrier between the front and the rear.
1 piece for the rear doors.


For the wall carpets I would use a sheet metal screws and a large washer to the columns and just let it hang down unattached at the bottom. Simple install.
After the wall carpets are hung I would cut flaps (bottom and 2 vertical sides) for each window that could be lifted and hung up to the ceiling.
Drop them down for privacy.

I was taking a bike ride and was thinking about this concept.

The Reflectix is good for reflecting the heat away. I have used it before, and it did help keep things cooler, but nothing like having actual insulation behind it. 
Just a thought, why not use 1/4 or 1/2 inch Polyiso covered with Reflectix, and cut to make a tight fit in the windows?

Just a thought, why not use 1/4 or 1/2 inch Polyiso covered with Reflectix, and cut to make a tight fit in the windows?

That would work fine. And if you could lower the carpet flap over it, even better.

Because it is so 70's Dude.  

[attachment=44]

Neoprene is used a lot here 1/2 inch for walls, with foam board in big holes, and 3/4 inch on the roof. Flocking is big over here too, and Europe. Pure color nylon fibers electrostaticaly applied to a glue base. You paint wherever you want the fibers to dart in and stick and that color goes there. Vacuum loose ones up changes colors paint and zap blend and match. Various lengths can add a 3d effect and black mixed with silver creates a star filled sky. I was thinking about doing Edvard Munchs The Scream on the roof. Russian brothel red walls and a checkered flag floor. LOL! 

[attachment=45]

A shot of a little more mundane use. 

Reflectix IS an insulator... with an R value of 1.1, but it can be doubled and the R value is cumulative with each layer and air space. While it may not have the R value of fiberglass batting, when installed properly is IS better than no insulation at all.

https://www.reflectixinc.com/about-refle...formation/

Having had travel trailers with neoprene (Scamp Elephant Hide,) reflectix and rat fur carpet (Later model Scamps,) and standard residential fiberglass (Sac City Burro 17) I can tell you that any insulation is better than none, and even yet the majority of heat loss or gain is through the windows. Dual thermopane windows are worth their weight when it comes to keeping an interior warm or cool.

(09-19-2017, 05:29 PM)Ballenxj Wrote: [ -> ]The Reflectix is good for reflecting the heat away. I have used it before, and it did help keep things cooler, but nothing like having actual insulation behind it. 
Just a thought, why not use 1/4 or 1/2 inch Polyiso covered with Reflectix, and cut to make a tight fit in the windows?

(09-20-2017, 03:40 AM)Hepcat Wrote: [ -> ]Reflectix IS an insulator... with an R value of 1.1, but it can be doubled and the R value is cumulative with each layer and air space.  While it may not have the R value of fiberglass batting, when installed properly is IS better than no insulation at all.

https://www.reflectixinc.com/about-refle...formation/

Having had travel trailers with neoprene (Scamp Elephant Hide,) reflectix and rat fur carpet (Later model Scamps,) and standard residential fiberglass (Sac City Burro 17) I can tell you that any insulation is better than none, and even yet the majority of heat loss or gain is through the windows.  Dual thermopane windows are worth their weight when it comes to keeping an interior warm or cool.

I live in SE Florida where no insulation is installed in the walls or the windows; only roof insulation.  
Double insulated glass is seldom seen.
For roofs, insulation R values of 13 to 20 are common.

In our super insulated house in Maryland we used low e double glass windows, 6" wall insulation, and two 1/2" reflective foam boards on the exterior.
It was amazingly efficient.

Why not insulate walls and windows?  The Heat Transfer equation is Heat= MS (T2-T1).
Heat travels from the higher Temp to the lower Temp.  Never the other way.
Ice does not cool your beer, the beer warms the ice and the Heat coming out of the beer leaves it cooler.
At 95*F the house needs 20*F of cooling to to counter the heat coming though the walls and the windows to yield a comfortable 75*F.
We insulate the attic because without insulation the temperature in the attic can easily reach 120*F.
We would need to cool 120*-75* or 45*F, over twice the heat load of the walls/windows.


Back to vans:  A carpet with a gap behind it on all steel areas would feel OK.
For windows, either Reflectix, Reflectix adhered to a foam insulator, a reflective tint, and/or the carpet flap covering it.  I understand that there is a new window tint that appears transparent but which reflects heat.  
An exterior shade or awning to block the sun would be perfect.

As for the van with solar, a 1" gap beneath the panels would shadow the roof and make it much cooler.  
The 1" gap would be a handy place to store pull-out shades for the side windows.

Interior Finish Materials R Values
Gypsum Board (drywall 1/2")
0.45
Single Glass
0.91
w/storm
2.00
Double insulating glass (3/16") air space
1.61

My $0.02

(09-19-2017, 05:29 PM)Ballenxj Wrote: [ -> ]The Reflectix is good for reflecting the heat away. I have used it before, and it did help keep things cooler, but nothing like having actual insulation behind it. 
Just a thought, why not use 1/4 or 1/2 inch Polyiso covered with Reflectix, and cut to make a tight fit in the windows?

(09-20-2017, 03:19 AM)Scott7022 Wrote: [ -> ]Because it is so 70's Dude.  



Neoprene is used a lot here 1/2 inch for walls, with foam board in big holes, and 3/4 inch on the roof. Flocking is big over here too, and Europe. Pure color nylon fibers electrostaticaly applied to a glue base. You paint wherever you want the fibers to dart in and stick and that color goes there. Vacuum loose ones up changes colors paint and zap blend and match. Various lengths can add a 3d effect and black mixed with silver creates a star filled sky. I was thinking about doing Edvard Munchs The Scream on the roof. Russian brothel red walls and a checkered flag floor. LOL! 


A shot of a little more mundane use. 

Looks great.  How does it insulate and feel?

(09-20-2017, 06:41 AM)Boyntonstu Wrote: [ -> ]As for the van with solar, a 1" gap beneath the panels would shadow the roof and make it much cooler.  
The 1" gap would be a handy place to store pull-out shades for the side windows.

My unproven theory is that while the panels give shade and help cool the section of roof they cover, the one inch or more space underneath would act like an attic vent in an abstract sort of way. Hey, it sounded good to me?  
Anyway, that, in conjunction with window covering, decent insulation and proper ventilation in my opinion would go a long ways to help keeping the van cooler in summer months.

I've seen reviews of the 3M window tint or No tint film that drops ultraviolet head radiation significantly. I want to go way back into our Canadian mountains so I won't be putting windows into whatever I build. In Siberia we packed them with fur and tape as they were magnets for cold. The film wouldn't do much for cold.

None of our trucks used Neoprene for insulation. Some of the local builds use is for the nice smooth appearance and they say it works well for sound as well as hot/cold. Here it comes in thicknesses up to 1 and 1/2 inches (metric) and down to 1/8th. Most here add a product like Dynamat to walls, roofs, and seem transitions to the floor. Then they seal that with 1/4 inch and then dump foam core insulation boards into the big holes and get it close to even. Spray foam the holes you can't get into and then seal it again with a continuos 1/2 or 3/4 going up from the floor across the roof and down to the floor. Like ribs front to back and then drop a 1 inch matt on the floor when everything is dry. I dove in the Arctic wearing a neoprene suit and so that is all the experience I have with it. I don't know how well of a heat insulator it is R values and the like but it KILLS sound. As in run your genie class A I ain't waking up. The flocking is really pretty cool. It is 100 nylon material so it really resists scuff and stains. You need to know what you're doing as different surfaces need different types of epoxy for it to stick into. But as it is applied via static each hair goes in at close to 90 degrees. Looks very cool, strong, fire resistant. One of the guys used a blow torch to create and effect like a frozen lake were his windows would have been on a back wall. The back wall looks like logs with a silver white frosted window. It is really very cool.

(09-20-2017, 07:12 AM)Ballenxj Wrote: [ -> ]

(09-20-2017, 06:41 AM)Boyntonstu Wrote: [ -> ]As for the van with solar, a 1" gap beneath the panels would shadow the roof and make it much cooler.  
The 1" gap would be a handy place to store pull-out shades for the side windows.

My unproven theory is that while the panels give shade and help cool the section of roof they cover, the one inch or more space underneath would act like an attic vent in an abstract sort of way. Hey, it sounded good to me?  
Anyway, that, in conjunction with window covering, decent insulation and proper ventilation in my opinion would go a long ways to help keeping the van cooler in summer months.

Quote:http://www.cheaprvliving.com/forums/show...482&page=2


At 4pm in my location the sun was 41.4 deg above the horizon, so it was well past full sun.

• ambient temp was 98F.
  
• underside of panels were 117F even though the sun was low-ish and I have a generous 5" standoff between the roof and bottom of the cells.
  
• interior temp of uninsulated section of roof was 103-105F where the roof was shaded by the panels.
  
• interior temp of insulated section of roof was 100F where the roof was shaded by the panels.
  

This appears to be a function of heat re-radiated from the underside of the solar panels.  I would expect the phenomenon to be more pronounced in full sun conditions (hotter panels), and more pronounced for folks who have less of a gap  between panels and roof.  

Takeaway:  roof insulation may be useful with roof-mounted panels even if living in very mild climates.   

Bonus observation:  the white body of the van was 8F-15F cooler than the black plastic moldings around the wheelwells, etc.  I don't know how much color affects the temp vs. shiny paint / matte plastic.

"interior temp of insulated section of roof was 100F where the roof was shaded by the panels."

Perfect!

No attic problem at all!