Jayco, Arctic Fox, Grand Design
Ugh... Why oh Why is making a choice so hard. Wife and I went looking today.... Jayco seem nice but local dealer doesn't have a lot of inventory but it seems to be missing options I think I wa...
Forum Discussion
dfm,
First of all, Reflectix is a much cheaper to purchase knockoff and is not Astro Foil and does not have the same effective insulation properties. Secondly, having gaps or voids means it's not being installed properly which reduces the effectiveness.
Two R-7 layers of fiberglass insulation and one layer of Astro Foil in a 4-1/2 inch thick sealed chamber with 3/16" paneling on the inside and 3/8" plywood on the other for a ceiling/roof equals R-29. BIA certified! Takes more than 8" of the same fiberglass insulation in an 8+" sealed chamber with the same paneling and plywood the get the same R-29 value without having Astro Foil and you also lose the moisture barrier and reflective properties. That's what Astro Foil does for enhancing insulation effectiveness. That's with the Astro Foil laying horizontal and covering the entire chamber. Astro Foil mounted vertically has approx 2/3 the insulating effectiveness of laying horizontal.
As an average for a heated structure's heat loss, it's approx 50% thru the roof, 25% thru the floor, and 25% thru the sidewalls including having decent windows of average size. Heated air always rises and cold air always sinks! Best bang for the buck in insulation R-value is the ceiling/roof. How often doors to the outside are opened and for how long along with proper sealing and caulking of cracks and all air leaks has a huge affect on heat losses.
Basically, what insulates for heat losses also insulates for cooling losses with the exception of the Suns rays entering thru the windows which then heats inside objects.
First of all, Reflectix is a much cheaper to purchase knockoff and is not Astro Foil and does not have the same effective insulation properties. Secondly, having gaps or voids means it's not being installed properly which reduces the effectiveness.
Two R-7 layers of fiberglass insulation and one layer of Astro Foil in a 4-1/2 inch thick sealed chamber with 3/16" paneling on the inside and 3/8" plywood on the other for a ceiling/roof equals R-29. BIA certified! Takes more than 8" of the same fiberglass insulation in an 8+" sealed chamber with the same paneling and plywood the get the same R-29 value without having Astro Foil and you also lose the moisture barrier and reflective properties. That's what Astro Foil does for enhancing insulation effectiveness. That's with the Astro Foil laying horizontal and covering the entire chamber. Astro Foil mounted vertically has approx 2/3 the insulating effectiveness of laying horizontal.
As an average for a heated structure's heat loss, it's approx 50% thru the roof, 25% thru the floor, and 25% thru the sidewalls including having decent windows of average size. Heated air always rises and cold air always sinks! Best bang for the buck in insulation R-value is the ceiling/roof. How often doors to the outside are opened and for how long along with proper sealing and caulking of cracks and all air leaks has a huge affect on heat losses.
Basically, what insulates for heat losses also insulates for cooling losses with the exception of the Suns rays entering thru the windows which then heats inside objects.
