Quality home insulation is extremely important, since it does not allow heated air escape from your house, thus adding comfort and warmth to the place you live in. Having installed the one in your apartment or house, you will soon observe positive changes, which will eventually be reflected in your heating bills.
The market abounds in different types of isolation, which are distinguished from each other by lots of factors, including their thickness, R-value, materials they are made of, thermal performance and, of course, cost. Dozens (if not hundreds) of manufacturers around the world compete with each other, trying to provide their customers with the most effective, quality and affordable products. Still, there is one type of isolation that is extremely popular with the customers nowadays. It is aerogel insulation.
Aerogel is considered an advanced innovation, which was even registered in the Guinness World Records Book as the best insulator ever. What makes this silica-based material a perfect solution? Let us try to find that out. To start with, it is produced of special gel, the liquid component of which is replaced by air, the total concentration of which is up to ninety percent. Due to this, it is very thin, fire-resistant and breathable. In addition, it is water-proof and strong. Nonetheless, the main feature that distinguishes it from other isolation materials is its decreased thermal conductivity. It is reported that you may even light a blowlamp on the one side of this material and it will not make a hole in it. Moreover, another side of this insulator will not even be hot. Can you imagine that? This explains why this substance is considered to belong to science fiction.
Being very lightweight, aerogel is frequently referred to as “frozen smoke”. If you compare material produced of this substance to other isolation types, you will discover that it provides isolation that is up to forty times more efficient. In addition, it is able to withstand excessive pressure and high temperature (up to two thousands degrees Fahrenheit) and may be successfully utilized as sound insulator as well.
Despite the above mentioned advantages, this isolation material has one substantial disadvantage. It is its price. The point is that it is extremely expensive and the average house owner cannot afford purchasing it. Luckily, researchers are trying their best effort to invent cheaper ways of producing this material so that all concerned homeowners could have an opportunity to buy it.