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MtnDon
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 10:40
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Think again. Here's an article from GreenBuildingAdvisor.com
An excerpt from the beginning of the article...
" Posted on Mar 21 2014 by Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor
Foil-faced bubble wrap is a thin product that comes in a roll. Its R-value is dismally low.
Most brands of foil-faced bubble wrap are only 3/8 inch thick or less, and have an R-value of only 1.0 or 1.1. Since the product often costs more per square foot than 1-inch thick rigid foam rated at R-5, why would anyone use bubble wrap as insulation?
The R-value of foil-faced bubble wrap is so low that it has few, if any, advantages over rigid foam. Of course, the product's foil facing can be used as a radiant barrier — but if you want a radiant barrier, cheaper products are available. (The bubble wrap layer is unnecessary, since it adds cost to the material without adding any useful thermal performance.)
Exaggerated R-value claims
Since the main benefit from foil-faced bubble wrap is due to its radiant-barrier facing, the product is basically worthless unless it faces an air space. A decade ago, when I was the editor of Energy Design Update, I noticed that many manufacturers of foil-faced bubble wrap were promoting their products for use under concrete slabs on grade. In this application, the shiny foil is clearly not facing an air space, so the exaggerated R-value claims made by bubble-wrap manufacturers were particularly outrageous. My article exposing the bubble-wrap scammers appeared in the September 2003 issue of EDU."..... more on the link above.
Comes down to be a more or less useless product for insulation, or at best a more expensive radiant barrier than alternative radiant barriers.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 12:35
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I used foil bubble wrap to wrap multiple layers around the plumbing coming out of my water tank, to hopefully avoid freezing. Useful for that only because it is flexible, and the foil radiant barrier does nothing in this situation. Foam pipe wrap is better but when wrapping valves, Ts, short lengths etc. bubble works just because of its flexibility. But you have to wrap multiple layers to get any reasonable value out of it.
Looks like some slick marketers were looking for a way to sell more bubble wrap. Put a foil face on it and call it insulation.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 20:53 - Edited by: Don_P
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Unfortunately one of my client's used it under a radiant slab because it supposedly had much higher R value than foam. The radiant system does it's best to warm the planet and there is no way to retrofit insulation under the slab  .
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 21:12
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Dang! That IS real bummer. Any idea if any building departments / code enforcement officials are now aware of the issues and don't allow it to be used?
The foil faced bubble wrap was being touted as the easy solution to insulating sheds by a local shed builder a few years back. At the time it didn't seem right to me but wasn't worth an argument as I wasn't buying his shed anyhow.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 22:45
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Yeah ,we couldn't figure out why the system was blowing through fuel and then I started reading about the FTC warnings, and complaints. I'm not sure what enforcement does with it, I'll ask. Meanwhile if you need any... I traded labor for enough to do a small home, 16" wide and 4' wide rolls. I guess it would make a good burglar warning device if used as doormats at night, or maybe shiny Christmas wrapping for the next 50 years 
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 23:04
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Good for use in a roof under the rafters here in the desert... But I have no plans to build anything new and don't feel like wading knee deep through blown in cellulose to retrofit the present roof / attic.
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