Aerogel sheets

[ovrcmr]

It looks like blue smoke is finally coming down in price.
It's thin but has a whooping R value.  20x6 ft comes out to about $900.  A little outside my reach yet but Im hopeful for the future

 

[maki2]

here is the catalog for the Aerogel insulation sheets. The company website says the "spaceloft" blankets are the ones used for building insulation. They state it is 2.5 times better than Styrofoam. I am assuming they mean 2.5 times better for the same thickness but that point is only my personal assumption and not one that is stated exactly that way in writing. They do state a thermal conductivity value but at no time do they give an exact R-Value, they only say it is the best R-value insulation around. CYA action if you don't give a definitive R-Value other people's testing can't prove you wrong. I am sure it is an effective insulator but I don't know how much better it is in terms of R value for the investment.
http://www.buyaerogel.com/product-category/blankets/

 

[Gr8ful]

No R or U value & way to expensive IMHO.

 

[ovrcmr]

Strange!  I had added the link but it got stripped out. Thanks for adding the link.
I've followed "blue smoke" since it was first invented and if you held a 1 inch piece in your hand you could point a torch at it and not feel any heat from it.  They were talking about using it on the space shuttle for reentry to insulate from intense heating.  Then the shuttle got scuttled.  It's extremely light and durable.  From memory I seem to remember an r value of around r14 at that time.  It's a polymer with 90% trapped air and is nearly invisible except for a blue tint.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 . . . They do state a thermal conductivity value but at no time do they give an exact R-Value, they only say it is the best R-value insulation around . . .   

Thermal conductivity is a measured material property that engineers would use using the actual temperature difference expected to determine heat flow.

R-value is a popular term (derived from thermal conductivity and a temperature difference of 24ºC) used in the building trades because it is easier to use:

     The R-value of Aerogel is about 20 per inch.
     The R-value of fiberglass batting is about 3.5 per inch.
     EPS (styrofoam) is about R=4.0 per inch.
     XPS (pink Foamular) is about 5.0 per inch.
     ISO (Polyisocyanurate) is about 6.0 per inch.