Bubble wrap insulation how does it work

But, heat gain also comes from the sun shining right through the window and the bubble wrap and then being absorbed when it hits a surface in the room. In the winter, this direct absorption of solar radiation is a good thing in that its free heat gain -- its one of the nice features of bubble wrap that it allows the sun to shine right through it and get beneficially absorbed in the room.

But, in the summer this direct absorbtion of solar radiation in the room is a negative and its a big part of summer heat gain for windows that get a lot of direct sun. For summer heat gain with windows that get direct sunlight its really important to prevent the sunlight from shinning through the window and into the room. The best way to do this is to stop the sunlight outside the window by shading the window on the outside in some way.

The shading can be things like shade trees or bushes, shade screen which still allows some light into the room, but blocks most of the heat gain , or completely opaque shades on the outside of the window that block all of the sun. If its not possible to shade the window on the outside, than another approach is to place a reflective surface like a shade just inside of the window with the reflective side facing the window.

This reflects much of the sun right back out the window so it is not absorbed and converted to heat inside the room. Surfaces like aluminum foil or a reflective white paint are good at reflecting sunlight back out the window. The section on passive cooling has a lot of ideas and schemes for reducing summer heat gain. The window shading page in particular has ways to reduce heat gain through windows. Doug reports that bubble wrap that he installed 6 years ago has about had it.

He thinks the life is around 5 to 7 years. In his application, the bubble wrap stays up year round. He reports that at the end of its life, it tends to stick to the glass, so replacing it before this happens might save some cleanup work.

The bubble wrap he is using was intended for packaging, so this still leaves open the question of whether the bubble wrap intended for greenhouses will last longer. The greenhouse bubble wrap we installed is on its third winter, and is still doing fine.

I know you came here to look at bubble wrap for your windows, but our site also has literally hundreds of good practical projects and ideas on energy efficiency, solar heating and electricity , and the Half Plan to help you cut your total energy use in half. That's something, I guess. Putting bubble wrap on your windows is a snap. It will take you less than a minute to insulate one window. You will need a spray bottle, an exacto knife and some bubble wrap.

Mist the water onto your window. Push the bubble side of the wrap against the window. The water will hold the bubble wrap to the window all winter. You will need no tape or glue. Homes with single glazed windows, especially in cold climates, would experience the full effect of this simple heat loss prevention technique. Although windows provide our homes with warmth and light, they can also be a significant weak spot in your home's thermal efficiency profile.

You can cut down utility bills almost in half by applying ordinary bubble-wrap packing material on your windows to keep the heat in. It is easy and fun to install, a few minutes per window is more than enough. Yes, it does! We have tested the bubble wrap insulation on north-facing, single-glazed windows to see if it would prove to be a good insulator. Gary from BuilditSolar also tested bubble wrap insulation performance , and he was genuinely amazed by the results, simplicity, and short payback period.

The only downside effect is that the view through the insulated window is a little bit fuzzy; however, it does let in plenty of sunligh. If you are still not sure how to insulate windows , check out why we think bubble wrap is a perfect low budget choice for home insulation material:. Bubble wrap is an excellent insulator thanks to small pockets of air trapped within the bubbles. After applying bubble wrap insulation to your windowpane from the inside, tiny bubbles serve as a network of many insulating pockets filled with air.

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