Nansulate

[rice_n]

Hello everyone,

We have been approached about a product called Nansulate which it is claimed substantially reduces energy consumption in buildings. It is applied as a liquid and claims to “insulate not by reflectivity but by low thermal conductivity”.

It has been presented to us as a potential cost effective solution for solid wall properties. Have any of you any knowledge of the performance of this product or have carried out any tests or field trials?

Noel Rice
Northern Ireland Housing Executive

[Paul]

have no experience of the product though I have come across it. To my knowledge it has never been offered as a way of insulating a house in England . This technology has best been used in applications where you need to inhibit heat flow through buildings and equipment However I can offer you the link http://www.cchrc.org/docs/Insulating_Paint_Final.pdf to a report on Nansulate which comes from the The Cold Climate Housing Research Centre (CCHRC) which is an industry-based, non-profit corporation created to facilitate the development, use, and testing of energy-efficient, durable, healthy, and cost-effective building technologies for people living in circumpolar regions around the globe

[ALEO Admin]

Thanks Noel, Paul

We've also had an emailed response, from Jon Bird at Dorset County Council, which I think you've been copied into, Noel.

He sent through the link to the same document that you've suggested, Paul, just before you posted your response, although he also comments:

http://www.cchrc.org/docs/Insulating_Paint_Final.pdf
states "found to lack any significant effect in reducing heat transfer or heating demand."
which doesn't surprise me. I have no idea how rigorous this test was but it looks reasonable.

I was involved with a Trading Standards case not for Nansulate but another paint-on insulator that claimed to be half as effective as rockwool or something to that effect.

The claim might have been true, but forgot to mention it was half as effective as the same thickness of rockwool - so you could use it instead of rockwool, but you would need to apply several thousands of coats, not just one or two!