Insulation R Values

The seven inch thick insulation is comparable to eleven inch thick fiberglass batting. There is no wood in the American Ingenuity Dome shell to interrupt the insulation or to rot or to be eaten by termites or to burn. However, during the assembly of the dome kit, a temporary wooden rib system is used to support the panels until the seams or areas between the panels are concreted and the entyways and dormers are concreted. At that stage, the rib system is removed because the dome is self supporting.

The following insulation information came from this web site:

http://www.ineed2know.org/

1. What’s the benefit of insulating my home?

• Insulation can help reduce the cost of your heating and cooling bills by preventing the flow of heat into your house in the summer time and reducing the flow of heat out of your home in the winter time. In short, you can save money.

2. What’s the most important thing to know about insulation?

• Its "R-value." The R-value of an insulation product gages the resistance the insulation has to the flow of heat.The higher the R-value, the better the product will resist heat flow. R-values are standardized, so you can compare different brands and types of insulation, and still know their relative ability to resist heat flow.

3. How can I be sure the R-value of an insulation is accurate?

• Insulation R-values are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. Manufacturers must label their insulation packages, installers and stores must provide you with fact sheets, and new home sellers must include R-value information in their sales contracts.

R-Value Table

The following R-Value Table came from the web site:

http://www.allwallsystem.com/design/RValueTable.html

Insulation Values For Selected Materials

Use the R-value table below to help you determine the R-value of your wall or ceiling assemblies. To obtain a wall or ceiling assembly R-value you must add the r-values of the individual components together.

This method ‘Wall Assembly R-Value” gives incorrect results for MASS walls such as the All Wall System.

Example of error, as defined by ORNL research papers.

When compared to a 6” R-20 framed Wood Wall a Foam Block (ICF) wall performed with a 9% better Energy Savings.

A wall built like All Wall performed with an 18% better Energy Savings. (9% over the Foam Block walls) because of the concrete being in direct contact with the interior.

See ORNL’s report conclusions by clicking here. Oakridge National Laboratory

Example:

Wall Assembly R-Value Example:

R-Value Table