Reflectix question...

[WanderLoveJosh]

Sorry if this sounds stupid.. But I'm really stupid. 

So I sprayed my back windows with flat black the other day. I had met a couple van dwellers in Panama City beach named Marshall and ally, who had done this and it looked really good. So I did the back windows and then I remembered something he told me, about how warm it gets when the sun beats down.

My question.. Since reflectix is suppose to be insulation.. If I put it on the inside of the window, would that make any difference at all? Or just waste money??

Btw I'm in San Marcos now.. About to start working so way closer to Arizona than a week ago, I hope to meet a lot of you at the RTR!

 

[Van-Tramp]

Reflectix has an R-value of 1.0 (give or take a tenth), which is pretty minimal insulation, but yes it will make a difference and be worth it.

You can step it up and go for proper insulation, but the reflectix seems to be the easiest to use, setup, and store when not being used.

 

[TrainChaser]

Keep an eye out for the privately-owned hardware and feed stores, as some of them sell the Reflectix by the foot. That way, it would be a cheap experiment. I think the last time I did that (24" w), I think it was about $1.50 per running foot.

 

[WanderLoveJosh]

Awesome, I thought it might because, I've seen black vans that people have insulated, so why wouldn't it make sense for two windows.

 

[Vanholio]

My question.. Since reflectix is suppose to be insulation.. If I put it on the inside of the window, would that make any difference at all? Or just waste money??

If you keep the Reflectix metal exposed on the inside of the van, it'll help by resisting emission of the radiant energy. That's a second way it works. The first way is what most people think of, reflecting.

Watch this video and look at about minute 1:30 and on about emissivity. That's the scenario you're looking at sticking Reflectix onto a black window inside the van. 

 

[GrayWhale]

Hmm, that was a bad move IMO to spray paint the windows. Reflectix was around $25 for a huge roll on Amazon.com. I have a conversion van will all the windows and only used like 80% of the roll for all of them. I also spray paint one side of each cutout flat black to not make the windows shiny silver. They come on and off pretty easily when I want to let some light in or get a good view. It's also nice to be able to see out the rear windows when driving.

 

[VanGrrl57]

Yeah, I used Reflectix for the windows in my van. I did the same thing as you, GrayWhale. I used velcro so they come on and off easy when I want to see out the back of my van.

VanGrrl57

 

[GrayWhale]

Wouldn't the velcro start ripping off reflectix after a while? I'm having good luck just cutting them a little bit bigger than the windows and then pushing them into the crevices to hold.

 

[TrainChaser]

Yes, it will. Velcro doesn't take endless abuse.

 

[Ballenxj]

I'm having good luck just cutting them a little bit bigger than the windows and then pushing them into the crevices to hold.

That's how I did it when I had my motorhome. Worked great.