Poll - How helpful is insulation?

[vagari]

Assumptions:
1. You have white van or painted roof white
2. You plan to be a snowbird in winter
3. You will seek higher elevations (or head north) in summer
4. You have a fantastic vent/fan (or similar)

How much will insulating the van help?

Will help a lot
Will help some
Will help very little
Don't waste your money

 

[kyonu]

Insulation defends against heat or cold, by keeping the interior temperature where it's at. Some heat or cold will still seep through, but it drastically improves your condition in hot or cold climates. That said, everyone should always insulate to the best of their abilities (or checkbook).

 

[SternWake]

1. White roof and dark body, still radiates a lot of heat to interior.
2. It will occasionally still get cold in snowbird locations.
3. It still get hot in the north or at elevation in summer
4. Ventilation helps, no doubt, when hot, but need to block radiated heat with insulation.

I had a white roof with grey body for a number of years, the difference when painted all white was drastic.

I do not have much insulation, 1/2 inch foam board adhered to fiberglass roof with a 3/32" thick white plastic on that. On the walls just 1/8 inch carpet underlayment with same plastic over it. I was willing to lose little interior space to insulation.

My biggest heat source is the conversion van windows. They're black and are like 200 watt heat radiators, even with 1/2 inch thick panels in them.

Lighter interior colors radiate less heat to interior from exterior. Emissivity.

Condensation. I had an uninsulated van in NZ. I'd often wake up with condensation dripping on my head from the metal roof.

Good insulation cannot be understated if one is going to be spending time inside in unpleasant exterior conditions.

 

[GotSmart]

Having spent many years in construction, every dollar spent in the right place returns untold more. One house we built last year had 2x6 walls, and 10" of blown insulation in the rafters. The heating bill was $700 for a 1,500 sq ft 4br home last winter. (November through March.)

The next purchase will be a windshield shade / reflector. For $10, I will not only have privacy, but a much cooler van in the summer.

I painted my roof white when I took care of the rust. When I installed my Fantastic Vent, I found 2" of insulation on the ceiling of my factory conversion.

 

[Iggy]

So far, no insulation for me. I'm staying minimal on expenditures for the van while I decide on future plans. Last winter it got down to 25° inside a few times but my Lil Buddy heater warmed it up quickly. I like cold anyway. Heat is more difficult to deal with, even with a white color and roof vent. Damn Al Gore for creating global warming! (I do like the internet that he invented though). I head to the coast or mountains when I can. Otherwise I can usually find shade and open the doors at sunset to cool things down. I'm real good at making do with the hand I'm dealt and finding the good in it.

 

[akrvbob]

I wouldn't be without insulation.
Bob

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

For cold weather, the main thing is a stocking cap, long underwear, and good sleeping bag.

 

[vagari]

I wonder how much insulation helps in hot weather when your van windows or doors are open and your fan is pushing the outside air through your van.

If you open all the windows and doors in a well insulated house isn't there an equilibrium between the inside and outside temperatures? The inside of the house would be the same temperature as sitting in the shade outside. Wouldn't this apply to a van?


I understand insulation in a house. You either run the AC or heat to establish a temperature difference between the inside and outside. The insulation then helps retain that temperature difference longer. I can see insulation helping a van in colder weather by retaining heat generated by a heater for a longer period of time. I don't see the benefit in hot weather with no AC, open windows and running a fan.

What am I missing?

 

[rinella]

It seems to me, an insulated van with the windows open is like standing in the shade. Without insulation, all of the sun's heat warms the metal and then continues to radiate into the van.

The goal with the insulation is to block the sheet metal from radiating.

 

[vagari]

It seems to me, an insulated van with the windows open is like standing in the shade. Without insulation, all of the sun's heat warms the metal and then continues to radiate into the van.

The goal with the insulation is to block the sheet metal from radiating.

I think this is the part I was missing. This makes sense. Thanks!

 

[GotSmart]

This is the first lesson from the HVAC class I took forever ago.

The first air conditioning system was devised by the early Egyptians. Their palaces were made up of giant stone blocks, and the throne and living rooms were toward the center of the structure, under layers of tapestries. They would have slaves bring stones out to the desert to become cool during the night. The stones were brought back in, stacked next to the space where cooling was wanted, and then slaves fanned the cool air where it was wanted.

Insulation and fans.

 

[LeeRevell]

Hmmm..... we need bigger vans to tote our stones and slaves.

 

[GotSmart]

Best laugh this week.

 

[akrvbob]

While I consider insulation to be essential for cold weather I must admit it is dubious for hot weather in a van.

There is no question that it will keep the heat from coming in for awhile, but eventually the heat is going to get in and be the same as outside temperture. So far it is a slight advantage. BUT!!!!

As it cools off in the evening, the insulation will KEEP the Heat IN. So by bedtime it will still be warmer than it would be without insulation. That is a significant disadvantage.

My solution is simply to move with the weather so it isn't hot. Then I get all the advantages of insulation and almost none of the disadvantages. But if you can't move, it will hurt you slightly in the summer.

But unless you live in south Florida, it's overall value makes it worth having and if you live in a cold place it is Essential!
Bob

 

[LeeRevell]

Depends on your situation and site layout. If in shade, open the windows and have a good fan going, the temp can be quite bearable. My central AC/HEAT in my house crapped out last year. So I am doing the 'open windows and run fans' thing here in sunny Florida. I have a fan blowing on me at any place I sit or lay. Keeps my reasonably comfy in high 90's weather.
Just got a small window AC for the bedroom - a 5,000BTU unit that will ultimately go into the van. The bedroom has about four times the volume of the van, and works well. I NEVER run it on 'COLD', just on 'COOL'. I do think some folks over estimate the size AC they really need. Now in the great heat of sunny Aridzona, I might decide differently!.
Once the AC is going the extra insulation will help hold the cool in better.
Basically, if insulation didn't work fairly well, nobody would be going through the time, effort and cost of installing it. Just my personal view on it. I am still reading and learning here, so keep the info coming! ;-)

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

the areas i neglected to insulate in my van become spring and summer space heaters the instant sun hits them...insulate. it can be done pretty cheaply in various ways. winter is not as big a deal, you just conserve more propane (not a bad thing). i think if i do another van i will be aggressively focused on keeping heat out and less on keeping heat in winter in. ie one sided foil out

 

[sassypickins]

I'm fixing up a cargo van. I've insulated everything except the roof-line where the original top meets the hi-top and just under that... and not there because it sticks out into the interior so much I want to wait until I figure out what's next with that. I even rolled and slid reflectix up into the window frames. I could feel that interior metal cooling as soon as I did it. But the strip of metal at that roofline juncture is painfully hot in the heat of the day. I must be a masochist because I just have to keep touching it and then the walls to marvel at the difference the insulation makes. Yesterday the walls were cool to the touch while it was 93 outside. Before I insulated I had to bring a fan from the house and have it blasting through the van because being a webfoot oregonian I'm not used to a plethora of dry heat. Now that the insulation is done the breeze has been enough. I put reflectix on the windows as the sun hits them, open shady side windows and doors, and it feels ok. I don't know the physics of it all but it's way better now. So I'm glad I insulated. I used reflectix where I could get a bit of air-space on at least one side of it, and 1" or more polyiso rigid foam board elsewhere. I didn't lose enough interior width to feel worse off.

 

[freenez2]

I've found a well insulated van to be very worth while. It works well for staying warmer when it's cold out. On the other hand it doesn't do squat for staying cooler when it's hot out. In my experience it feels like it tends to make the van even hotter. Exposed sheet metal in the van really hurts efficiencies as do uncovered windows. Vans are pretty heat leaky, but think it's still worth doing.