Bubble wrap home insulation? | Isobooster

Bubble wrap & foil home insulation! Are you going to try it out? Also, stick around till 8:13 and 9:15 ;)

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:44 Heat Transfer
1:26 Conduction vs infrared
2:18 Moisture movement
2:53 Advantages simple
3:24 Weight
4:01 Eco-friendly
5:19 Disadvantages R value
5:43 Fire resistance
6:07 Cost
6:31 Perm rating
8:13 High fashun

A Dutch company called PXA Nederland sent me these samples of Isobooster insulation which might be the most fun and innovative product I’ve received. It consists of 3 repeating layers. The first is low density polyethylene or LDPE bubble wrap with small air cushions. The second has large air cushions and the third is a polyester or PET film treated with evaporated aluminum.

Let’s look at the three modes of heat transfer.
- Conduction is the flow of heat through solids. Materials with high density conduct heat faster than materials with low density because air is a poor conductor.
- Convection is the flow of heat through a gas or liquid. Heat warms air molecules which expand, become less dense and rise.
- Radiation is the transfer of heat through infrared rays which is a band on the electromagnetic spectrum between visible light and microwaves.

Isobooster insulation addresses radiation with multiple layers of aluminum foil, and addresses conduction with multiple layers of bubble wrap.

The reflected infrared radiation vibrates water molecules and evaporates them. This makes the air in the wall cavity and in interior spaces drier and it decreases the relative humidity. This constant layer of hot, dry, rising air always moves along the surface of the reflective foil - a phenomenon called the Coanda effect. Dry air insulates twice as well as humid air, leading to a healthier environment, and preventing mold.

ADVANTAGES
Installation is very simple. It can be cut to size with scissors or a box cutter. It’s attached to wood studs with staples or capped nails. All the seams must be taped up. It doesn’t release any harmful fibers or dust, it doesn’t cause any skin or airway irritation and it doesn’t give off any toxic fumes. Since it’s flexible, It can be easily wrapped around pipes and outlets in stud bays. It’s great for both renovations and new projects.

It is 8 times lighter than conventional insulation materials, so transportation and labor costs are cheaper. It is maintenance free and DIY friendly. It’s especially useful on houseboats where every kilo or pound counts. It can also be used on the remodel of old homes and buildings with space constraints. It’s very versatile. It can be on walls, floors, basements, ceilings and roofs, both inside and outside.

It is environmentally friendly. The manufacturing of LDPE and PET film is clean and efficient, it has low CO2 emissions, and it doesn’t create much waste or harmful substances. It is also not an energy intensive process like traditional insulation. Isobooster not only reduces the energy consumption of a building, it is also 100% recyclable. It also has no thermal drift or loss of R value over time. It is also insect and rodent repellent.

DISADVANTAGES
Its R value is 2.4 per inch, comparable to fiberglass. However, if you’ve watched my R-value video, you know that the testing method favors fibrous insulation. If you look at the actual thermal resistance due to reflection of radiation, rather than conduction, it probably performs much better.

I was disappointed with the material’s fire resistance. It singed initially, but after prolonged exposure to the flame, it ignited. It costs 13.77 euros per m2 or 1.55 dollar per square foot. It’s even more expensive than rockwool which is $1 per sq ft. Most importantly, this is a vapor barrier with a very low perm rating. In older buildings that don’t have an HVAC system, you need to vent the cavity to allow water vapor to escape.
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Disclaimer: This video was created for educational/informational purposes and qualifies as Fair Use. If you are the creator or own the footage featured in this video and have reservations please notify me via Youtube comments or email and I will accommodate you
#bubblewrap #radiantbarrier #insulation #architecture #construction #mineralwool #fiberglass

[gospelaccordingtojohn]

I’m 64 years old and when I grow up, I want to be as smart as Belinda

[dougdiamond]

Man I love this channel. She is always on the cutting edge of architecture and building materials. One of the most underrated channels on YouTube.

[nick_g]

The fashion argument was the strongest. I’m sold.

[spicemasterii]

And if you don't like the house, you can ship it away. No need to worry about wrapping.

[gabriel]

**it doubles as high fashun**
I laughed really hard xD

[chrisstanford]

I added the Home Depot product to my new home during construction 10 years ago for additional radiant and thermal purposes, lowest energy bills in neighborhood 🤗🤗

[TechGorilla]

I will only install this when I am comfortable with the neighborhood kids coming over to constantly pop my walls.


I keed, I keed.


I did post a comment about a guy building a ICF home - totally. Walls, floors, roof, the works. Jesse Muller.

[permamulcher]

"plastic is an incredible human invention."
hells yes. thank you!

[drewcipher]

It's weird that it's so thin, but I've used an emergency blanket before. Those are super thin, but reflective and VERY warm.

[camdendexter]

Belinda, informative and interesting video as always. Thanks for being upfront about the manufacturer requesting the video and supplying the product. I hope to see you do a video on spray foam insulation soon.

[Insanetoaster]

I love your take on plastic being eco-friendly. It's up to us to find the best use for the materials that are available to us!

[teslafudge]

It is cool but moisture build up seems like a big issue.

[sunspot]

Last year during our heatwave I bought some of that foil-coated bubble wrap you featured for a moment in the video. My metal window frames were reaching 140° and the windows were letting a ton of heat and light into the room. Just a thin layer of that stuff blocked most of the heat radiating off the window. It’s surprisingly effective. I mounted it to the window using Command strips, so it can be easily removed and replaced whenever needed.

[neverwinsthegame]

I had this idea a few months ago, they could potentially make shipment much cheaper by inflating the film on site. Machines that can inflate packing film exist and are inexpensive.

[quintessenceSL]

You can encapsulate it (mostly) to improve its fire rating in standard installation scenarios (between studs, etc.). Even spraying with a flame retardant would help.

I'm curious about its sound transmission compared to other materials. An overlooked aspect of insulation is sound deadening, especially in urban areas.

[RANDOMNATION]

I saw a homeless guy sleeping in a city park, in Anchorage Alaska, that had wrapped himself up in a sheet of bubble wrap and was sleeping like a baby all snug and cozy. It was winter. And I remember thinking *hmmm, that'd make an interesting insulation for a remote hunting cabin. It rolls up tight, is light and easy to transport on a four-wheeler or small bush plane where space and especially weight is critical. I was considering a remote piece of property at the time and I remember how excited I was, like I had thought of something nobody else had. The cabin never happened and I had forgotten about it, til now. Anyway, cheers from Alaska.

[tsdelaney]

Another winning video, Belinda! Thank you!

[behramcooper]

They should fill the bubbles with Nitrogen, so that it acts as an extinguisher in case the house catches fire.

[SandyFunnies]

Loved your final scene. We all love to pop bubble wrap 🤩

[tysongonsorowski]

Belinda Carr for president! I will vote for you. Love this channel and the common sense it brings to construction issues. I guarantee this way of looking at things would solve most of the world's problems.