Aerogel is one of those “weird” products with tremendous promise. It is almost 100% air so even a little child can handle lifting a fairly large piece. The problem is that it is so expensive, the average person can’t afford it and it is normally very brittle.
There are Aerogel products so strong that you can’t break it even if you smashed a piece with a hammer – a huge advancement. One of the most promising applications for this material is as a super insulator – considered the best by many – but again, it is just too expensive.
Check out the strength of this “unbreakable” Aerogel – http://www.buyaerogel.com/product/airloy-x103/ and you can see that a very small piece is very expensive.
Watch this video, a blow torch flame only about 1/3 of an inch under a Hershey Kiss piece of chocolate and it doesn’t even melt. If this Aerogel was affordable in large pieces some day and was used as the insulation standard for homes and businesses, that would cut one of the largest energy uses to a fraction of what it is. Heating and Cooling is roughly 50% of the average home energy cost but if you can hold on to what you want and keep out what you don’t, then that becomes an insignificant part of your power bill!
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How thick does Aerogel need to be for home insulation purposes? Could 1 mm be too much? Could you paint Aerogel onto other insulation? Let’s get some imagination here.
Need to figure out the R-Value of Aerogel. My desire is that buildling codes are R100 for walls and ceiling. That alone with weatherization will cut energy costs in half by holding onto heat we want and keeping out heat we don’t want. Those should be the standards.
R100 is the way to go, I love it. If no website for how much of which insulation amounts to R100, such an online resource or handbook is needed. Materials list needs to include straw bales (width in inches or bales), adobe and so on.