Re: Possibly the best Insulation for around the Fridge/Freezer - Aerogel Sheets
Reply #4 –
From what I understood way back, if aerogel was used in a vacuum panel, the R value could be increased without too much effort to R20-30. going beyond took extraordinary effort on the part of the manufacturer. R-75 was what was produced back then by Owens Corning and the entire stock was sold off because production costs were too high etc. the entire production was sold off to Glacier bay. There are now panels on the market rated at R-50,60. I looked online after commenting earlier and found one company with 18 x 18 x 1" panels for $72. Thats 22% of what I paid back in 96 and if could be a huge increase in limiting run times on compressors. So production is out there and prices have dropped radically. No, the products are not cheap but for special applications it can make or break a concept refrigeration system's effectiveness, important if you want to stay off the grid or have limit to solar installation size.
also, if vacuum panels end up failing due to a leak, the R-value goes down to about 9 if just relying on the aerogel material itself.
An article I read back then explained that aerogel was a crystaline product that was the 1st or 2nd lightest material, and was created from a liquid. One piece the size of a sugar cube if unfolded, had the surface area that would cover a basket ball court. So, many many surfaces (like millions of tiny bubbles but crystals) with space inside, containing a vacuum. Extremely low temperature migration thru the material.
Either way, it looks like even plain aerogel might be something produced now -without being finished off in a vacuum panel- that can give 2x the insulation R value of other materials.
As an aside; quite a while ago, 10 yrs??, Practical Sailor did a test on regular ice coolers and there was one model by Igloo?, that kept ice for 5 days! That was astounding at the time. I bought one to keep beer in, while in while we were living aboard in Marathon, Fl. harbor. It worked!! I felt they must be using vacuum or something like aerogel, because there was no way an ice cooler sitting on deck in the Florida sun should be so efficient.
One way or another, it's expensive but at least 2x the r value of foam materials. Put it into vacuum panels and one could build or modify a refrigeration/freezer to be quite efficient.
Topic: Possibly the best Insulation for around the Fridge/Freezer - Aerogel Sheets (Read 925 times)
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