THERMOREFLECTANCE: SOME CONCEPTS TO BE CORRECTED

Why are misconceptions so widespread?

The main reason for this misinformation is probably due to the fact that in the past years the construction market had only seen low quality reflective products. Their characteristic was to block the thermal wave, but in a limited way.
This limitation has created a series of wrong ideas, related only to these products and their limitations. The main one is that heat-reflecting products must remain exposed to the heat source. Another misconception is that these products work in the summer heat but not in winter.
Perhaps this error stems from the fact that the most famous indicator of thermoreflectance (SRI) we have in its acronym the word “solar”, while it is only a parameter of evaluation.
It is in fact necessary to remember that the heat is always the same. These are atomic vibrations, whether they are heat from the sun in summer or heat from space heating systems in winter. Heat can be transmitted in a conductive, convective or by radiation way, but it is always the same physical form. The higher the atomic vibrations, the higher the temperature.

A product with a high thermalreflectance is one that blocks most of the heat wave. In this sense it is much more effective than a heat-insulating product which relies instead on its insulation capacity mainly on slowing the passage of heat.
This is the case with most traditional coats used in construction. Whereas a high thermal reflective capacity will allow much lower thicknesses and an often higher insulation quality (because it avoids the need for time lag to work).
One last inaccurate information is that thermoreflectance must be a “superficial” phenomenon. It is certainly so, but not in the sense that it should be exposed like a mirror to the heat source, but in the sense that it is the surface part of the insulating system which has this characteristic of blocking, at least partially, the passage of heat.

How to assess the reflective capacity of an insulation? It is necessary to verify the SRI (certificate) in the technical sheet. If it was higher than 100, we know that we are looking at a product of excellence. Without going into the other characteristics of the product.

For any information write to us at info@manti-ceramic.com

Visit our linkedin profile: Savenergy.it Holging