Thermablok is a space age technology for the home
Thermablok was developed by NASA as an insulator for the shuttles and deep space travel. In order to protect sensitive electronics from the frigid cold of Mars or traveling the universe, NASA worked with a number of different insulators and insulation products before settling on an Thermablok aerogel.
Thermablok is the best insulator known. It has a higher R-value than any other formulation. The basic foundation for Thermablok is a proprietary aerogel/fiber composite. Aerogel is basically a gel that is very dense with microscopic air pockets that keep heat or cold from moving through it. The problem with simply using aerogel is that it is not strong enough to survive installation or harsh environments.
The steps for making Thermablok are:
• Start with a non-woven blanket
– Typically polyester, glass,
carbon, or ceramic fiber
• Fill that blanket with a wet gel
• Remove the solvents via
supercritical CO2 extraction
• Roll the blanket onto a spool
The resultant insulation is made of over 95 percent air, uses more than 30 percent recycled materials and is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its useful life. It’s unaffected by moisture, mold or water and is “Class A” fire rated.
Thermablok is not meant to replace regular insulation installed between wall studs and beneath floors or in ceilings. “The mechanical connection from drywall to studs to exterior walls is a thermal short circuit (thermal bridging) that conducts heat through walls, past the conventional insulation between the studs.” Thermablok insulation is perfect for covering the front and sides of wall studs before applying drywall. Insulating the studs, framing timbers and joists improves the insulation of the home by 30 to 40 percent.
Through infrared imaging, you can see the difference that Thermablok makes. The pink and yellow areas show heat leaking from the house while the black area shows where heat leaks have been stopped. In the picture above, you can see the difference between the ground floor without Thermablok and the top floor with it. Although there is still some heat leakage on the top floor it is not nearly as bad as the ground floor.
Since glass in doors and windows is a major source of heat loss, scientists are looking into ways of making clear Thermablok. The fragility of the aerogel makes it very difficult and adding fibers into the substance for strength and stability would ruin the ability to see clearly in and out. It will take more research to create the desired outcome but given enough time, scientists believe it can be accomplished.
Thermablok is an economical way to improve the insulation in houses being built or renovated. One 2,400 square foot Las Vegas home saved $746 in energy costs annually by adding Thermablok.
Thermablok is one of the featured products in the upcoming Discovery Channel show, Ecopolis. The clip of the show covering Thermablok can be seen on the Thermablok home page.
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