loading spinner
> videos> Installer training>Insulation that turns convection into radiation

Insulation that turns convection into radiation

Published: 04/10/2023 11:22:13
Categories: Installer training , Thin reflective insulation

Does reflective thin insulation create convection?

A number of articles and videos posted on social media make plain how much confusion surrounds the way reflective insulation actually works.

The claim is that reflective thin insulation creates convection, and therefore discomfort.

Olivier sets the record straight.

Reflective thin insulation: clearing up the received ideas

Confusing convection, conduction and infrared radiation

According to certain self-declared insulation experts, reflective thin insulation generates convection and with it discomfort. Their argument runs as follows: because these products send radiation back, their surface stays relatively cool, which widens the temperature gap between the room and the underside of the insulation. That gap is supposed to increase convection, meaning air movement, which is not pleasant to live with.

These self-declared experts are, however, confusing conduction, convection and infrared radiation. What actually happens is this: the heat produced inside the home by the heating system and the other sources gives the ceiling inertia. Radiation and warm air together raise the temperature of the ceiling surface. That ceiling does not heat the air above it directly. It radiates its heat towards the reflective thin insulation.

Why infrared radiation is the point

It is worth repeating that heat transfer between two bodies happens as infrared light. In this case the cold body draws in the heat radiated by the warm one. Infrared radiation interacts very little with air, so the air is barely heated as a result.

The reflective product sitting above a ceiling, whether that ceiling is plasterboard, timber panelling or stretched fabric, reflects the infrared light coming off it. The ceiling in turn passes its heat on as infrared radiation. With a reflective product above it, a ceiling turns convection, which is uncomfortable, into radiation, which is not.

Partager ce contenu

Follow us

Withdraw from your contract here
Cookie settings This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The privacy policy and terms of service of Google apply.