"It's the only approved reflective building insulation in the world," said Paul Foisy of IEC, which is headquartered in California. "In the nine years we've been in business, the business has grown by double digits every year."
"It's the only approved reflective building insulation in the world," said Paul Foisy of IEC, which is headquartered in California. "In the nine years we've been in business, the business has grown by double digits every year."
The primary market is contractors putting up commercial spaces and homeowners doing remodeling. The foil is cut to shape with a knife, and stapled in the air space beneath ceilings - radiant heat is reflected back into the air space and vented via convection. The trapped air in the bubbles allows little heat to transfer through the foil via conduction.
The material can also be used as conventional insulation and as a vapor barrier.
Astro-Foil comes in two styles; Astro-Foil itself is two-ply bubbles, with three layers of aluminum, and is about 5/16 of an inch thick. Astro-E is single-ply bubbles with two layers of foil, about 3/16 of an inch thick. It comes in 50-foot rolls that are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 feet wide, and 125-foot rolls in 4 and 6 feet wide. Prices vary, but the only supplier is Innovative Specialities of Aiea, 488-5767, which also carries installation literature.
Another brand is Reflectix, found at home-improvement outlets. Reflectix, however, does not carry Uniform Building Code stenciling, required for commercial structures. It's primarily used by do-it-yourselfers.
A 4- by 50-foot roll of Reflectix at Eagle Hardware is $124.95. The same size of Astro-Foil is $126, and Astro-E is $122.