Thanks for all the effort put into this. A couple tips to improve accuracy: 1 - The laser dot is marking the center of a circle and the temp is averaged within the circle. The diameter of the circle is dependent on the distance and the angle set by the manufacturer. Check the manual for this info. 2 - the paper wasn't making good contact with the insulation, so there was very little conductive heat transfer. 3 - paint a black matte section directly on the insulation and read the temp off of that at a close range for the best accuracy (verify w/ a thermocouple taped to the service, or similar).
Also the outside temperatures were pretty varied. So, Idk if percent reduction in temperature is all that useful when comparing one panel with a 220 degree outside temp to another with a 180 degree outside temp.
Exactly, that is one reason he was getting the different temps on the outside, especially between the two temp guns. 1 foot difference in distance makes a huge difference in temp reading.
By the way, I've also installed a mini split AC in my garage. I used the 24,000 BTU unit from Senville for our 3-car garage, which is much cheaper than most units at $1250 US dollars at the time I purchased in Feb of 2023. A guy in my neighborhood installed one before me and he recommended it based on their price, and phone support. He called all of the main companies and Senville's support was the best. I can attest to the support because I ran into an issue with the AC drain pan connector leaking, and they sent me a whole new inside unit. I was initially considering the 18,000 BTU unit, but I'm glad I went bigger. I left unit going nonstop during the hot months and set to 76 degree, it felt really cool in there. It's so nice! One thing I'll warn you of is be thinking about what you'll do with the condensation. These units can fill a 5 gallon bucket in a day, and the ground will be saturated where the drain line drips. I ran PVC to a flowerbed about 10 feet away and the plants in that area love the extra water.
Great video comparison! Having a 100° garage was very unpleasant! After 2 years with my insulation I have to say that my garage is much more people friendly now. Thanks for the shout out!
IR thermometers measurement is dependant upon the emissivity of the material. If you want accurate results then stick some black pvc tape on and ensure it completely covers the field of view ( touch it against the material or cover a much larger area than you're measuring.) This can completely change the readings.
Also get closer. The laser dot is just for aiming - these IR thermometers read from a cone, 10:1 for the Klein single-laser unit. That means reading from 8' is measuring a bigger spot than the paper.
@@slamdvw... Also, looking through the IR camera from 8:15 is clear that the paper is only warm in about the middle third, where the tape is holding it near the insulation. The "wings" that curve away from the wall are almost room temperature. Interestingly, you can also see the "heat reflection" of the foil-based insulators.
After watching this i was about to go get some OC Foamular boards for my garage but luckily did some quick research. Owens Corning warns against using their boards in this manner because they are combustible and require a thermal barrier. I hope you put up a disclaimer.
The double reflective insulation is a radiant barrier and needs an air gap. If you install it on the inside ridges of the door with polyseamseal, it will seal the segments of door and have the highest R value with the least amount of weight.
I just used the Owens Corning fiberglass insulation on my 2 car garage 8 panel door and I only had to pay $142 from Lowe’s for the 2 kits. Not only is it warmer in my garage but the door is remarkably quieter when it’s operating.
I still haven't done the insulation because I was wondering what method to use from the different videos on TH-cam but you did the work for me, now I know which one I'll use. Just EXCELLENT !!! Great video, Thank you !
Awesome video as always! I live in London in a 1960s era apartment block with no insulation (it's crazy, I know). I'm on the 10th floor and have a wall of windows that are 80s-90s era but so drafty in the winter wind. I've done all the rubber strips and plastic sheeting stuff, but what really works is putting in foam panels in the windows! Yes it blocks the view, but when I wake up for work in winter it's dark outside and when I get home from work it's dark already, so it's no big deal. The foam is pretty easy to work with for beginners and is renter friendly.
A few years ago I did an install using the owens corning kit and then went around the edges with foil tape. It was a literal night and day difference in the garage temps. I did have to have a local company come out and replace my springs due to the added weight on a double door, but it was completely worth it! I also want to add, you should have your door springs adjusted regularly, it’s cheap to have them come out and they do lose tension over time and tend to stabilize after about 2 years of daily use. It’s not really a one and done thing.
I agree completely. I adjust my door springs myself after watching my installer and watching several TH-cam videos. ( I’ve been involved in home construction for years).
Great video. However, please note that Owens Corning Foamular products are combustible and must be covered by a 15-minute thermal barrier I would not recommend using Foamular to insulate a garage door.
I would think the dominant factors are flammability, durability in presence of moisture, and weight. The pink foam flammability is scary to me, I won't be doing that though it seems like best option otherwise. The eps (not xps extruded) styrofoam can absorb water I thought. Sealing it like Fred's method seems like asking for trouble. But maybe the foil faced foam options deal with water so those then stand out as best. That service call to adjust spring will cost more than the entire installation so there's that...
This would add a R value of about 1, excluding the thermal conductivity of any material installed between the door and the sheet to keep the air in place. Per my calculations, that would bring the option up to an R value of about 3.8.
I think another yt video mention that without the air gap the double reflective insulation became heat conductor and be less effective. Any reflective material is for repelling radiant heat transfer not for stopping conduction heat.
As I understand it, the double reflective stuff is supposed to have an air gap. It's in the instructions. Using the reflective stuff as the final layer in Fred's method would likely increase the efficiency.
This was a really informative and well done video. I will definitely use the information I learned here. I did want to make one suggestion: a percentage temperature drop isn't really an accurate conclusion from the results. The reason is that our temperature scales' zero points aren't really zero temperature. They're just arbitrary points on the spectrum we assigned to be 0. 0 Celsius is more useful than 0 Fahrenheit, obviously, but neither truly represents zero temperature. Point being, 100 degrees is not twice as hot as 50 degrees and a drop from 100 to 50 wouldn't really represent a 50% drop. The only way percentages would work would be if you were using the Kelvin scale, whose 0 point truly is zero heat at all. But since none of us think in that scale, everything else would be meaningless to us. I think using actual temperature drop would be a better measurement. I'm sure you converted to percentage because your outside high temps weren't all the same and you were trying to account for that, which makes sense, but I think the problems with percentages just compound the discrepancy.
Having the lower panels much hotter than the upper panels completely invalidates your test. The higher temperature on the outside will greatly increase the amount of heat radiated outward and thus a good part of your “greater” temperature differential inside to outside has nothing to do with the insulation on the inside, but is due to a faulty test. You need to test again ensuring that you have the exact same temperature on the outside of each panel.
Yep. This exactly. TBH, I also question the overall utility of this. I'm sure it helps some but with all those gaps in a garage door, the thing's gonna leak heat like a sieve no matter what you do.
The lower panels are hotter because the insulation, all the heat that would be leaking through the door is being isolated on the outside since the insulation isnt letting it through. So you could actually use these outside panel temps to show which insulation is better as well
Remember, the lower panels will probably be hotter due to proximity to the concrete landing in front of the garage. Depending on how hot it is outside, the lower panels may be exposed to more heat.
I would have just kept ambient temp outside and heated or cooled inside the garage and monitored the face temps of the panels. You need to adhere the same material to the inside, and make sure the thermometer is only measuring that material for emissivity reasons. The IR thermometer measures a circle much bigger than the laser dot.
There is a lot of these vids out there and it's a great project for the DIY person. one thing that is often left out is the insulation adds extra weight to the door. not a ton but still extra. I learned this the hard way. That extra weight also wears on your springs and can shorten their life.
Why is everyone so scared of these "torsion" garage door springs they are completely safe to DIY. They are not "tension" springs with hundreds or thousands of pounds of pressure on them. I really feel like there is this lie that people that overcharge to replace these springs "professionally" are perpetuating all over the place that they are super dangerous. Buy the $12 proper tools to adjust them and save $500 every time they fail, and fail they will because they don't hold up to as much use as we put them through now. But if you do add insulation to the door you should not just "turn up your springs" you should replace them with heavier springs so they are not straining more against the load and will fail faster. Torsion garage door springs are DIY friendly! Tell your friends!
You could combine the Owen's Corning NGX with the lightweight double reflective insulation that is taped to the frame, and give you an air gap between them. That might be the best combination.
I actually just did this! Double reflective insulation before putting on the NGX and it’s made a huge difference. So much of the heat doesn’t enter the garage now 👍🏽
With those IR thermometers the further away you read, the more area you are getting the measure from... the laser dot seems to be the only point you are measuring but read the manual and it will tell you the area being read with distance...
Don’t pay attention to my username as I’ve had this account for like 13 years. I work as a garage door technician. You’re never supposed to add insulation to an uninsulated door without changing the springs. The springs are designed by weight so adding to it after will screw that up. So if you’re planning on adding DIY insulation, also plan on paying $300+ for new springs. Adding more winds to the current springs will just reduce the life cycle and cause them to break prematurely. Garage doors are a lot more complicated than people realize.
Very interesting! Thanks for the summary at the end - I love that the top two in performance didn't add too much weight, were economical, and one is pretty quick and easy to install. Could be interesting to add in the insulation installed by a garage door company to the test.
Hey Mike, for sure. There are a dozen or more other solutions that would be fun to try but at least, like you mentioned, there are some efficient and inexpensive options to start with.
Reflective face insulation is by far most effective with an air gap. It usually says so on the insulation board itself. It's manufactured to be used as sub-siding with either vinyl siding or brick on the outside, creating that inherent gap. The DIY Fred solution is just following recommendations from the insulation maker, and then doubling it up because why not?
My garage is south-facing and very hot in the summer with internal temperatures slightly higher than the ambient temperature. This test was very helpful, thank you!
13:57 the Springs are considered a wear product that occasionally will require replacement. Tighter springs result in shorter life, so the cost of the added insulation could escalate
Excellent video - thanks! I used 2" rigid foam insulation on my garage doors, but I installed it with the silver side facing out to better reflect the heat. I tried it both ways before doing the whole thing and it was much cooler with the silver side facing out.
The least effective at 43% is actually the best value, and since the max performer is 56%, the performance between the two isn't quite as much as you might think. If it was me, I'd simply take all the bubble wrap I get from Amazon and See's and get to work taping them up. In most cases, the bottom line isn't heat flow, but the cost to heat or cool the heat flow. "Cost" includes mechanical heating and cooling, but also includes the insulation treatment. It actually takes rather little improvement of a bare metal panel to make a big difference in performance. The first 4 of "R" are the most impactful.
You cannot take percentages of degree measurements and compare them. It's meaningless. What's 10% of zero degrees? You have to convert to Kelvin first.
I have used Tom’s Key and it worked fantastic, was easy and extra keys programmed all work perfectly. Would recommend to anyone. The local Chrysler dealer was a major rip off.
Most of the heat leak will come through the metal of the garage door itself. You should try a kit that attached to the inside of the metal. I was able to cut the kit so that when closed it butts up pretty tightly together and you take the hinges off 1 or 2 at a time and run the foam and radiant barrier underneath. The screws will still conduct but it also makes the door significantly quieter in operation as well
IR thermometers measure an average of an area in a cone that gets bigger the further you are away from the thing. So when your pointing it at those panels you aren't getting the temperature of where the laser is, that's just to help aim and is grossly misleading.
Awesome! We are about to do this with our garage due to a significant temperature difference between it and the living spaces, as well as it being under living spaces. Can't wait to see your winter comparison as well!
I insulated our garage door with styrofoam panels, and it didn't make much difference in the garage temperature, BUT it definitely decreased the icy draft flowing down the door in winter. Comfort level is much higher. Door faces north, single garage is in walk-out (and drive-out) basement, almost 100% underground with living spaces above and on one side. Keeping cold out is more important then keeping heat out.
Great test. I like the results you came up with. Remember if you add weight it might not just be adding tension to existing springs but a completely new set of springs. Additional new doors use thermal breaks so the outside metal cant transfer heat inside this also helps improve the U-factor. See Clopay IECC compliance.
Minor suggestions: most paint reflect some Infrared, which is how the thermal temperature measuring devices works. So you might have been getting a reflection of the heat source when making the outside measurements. Best to turn off the outside heat source and move them out of the reflection line, or just use a direct contact thermometer. None of this should change the relative performance between the samples though. It just might have exaggerated the temp difference.
On the solid owens corning closed cell the 1" and add an air gap. Then the reflective over that also taping the sides. The reflective works better with an airgap you you put it right on the metal it lowers the effects, thats why the bottom left one works the best. As far as getting a 2" thick sheet in, no problem, cut it into 2x2 squars Pluse the 6" the side rails are 3" each side added. Take a circlur saw and cut a groove down the center you slide one side in add gap filler then slide the other side infill the gap with spray foam and run foil tape over it. One big draw back with a foam insulation if it burns it gives off very toxic gases, by code it cant be exposed. You have to have a 2 hour firewall over it.
As a garage door guy I recommend the bubble insulation. Any of the other choices not just required adding tension but to do it properly the spring needs to get changed to match the new doors weight. That repair is usually more than the cost of insulation. If you want to go with the thicker stuff I recommend doing it when you're already planning on changing out the springs. Springs are only rated for 10,000 cycles and depending on how you use your door those 10,000 can add up pretty quickly.
From what i have researched, gauge, length, quarter turn all determine what can be lifted and the gauge usually determines life cycle if done correctly. But in most calculators they give a range. This method is adding 10lbs so likely can still be within spec
@@2mustange Probably, but not certain. You'll probably get away with not replacing the spring.... But, the other thing is how old is it? If its pretty old might as well replace it,.. Its easy to get sucked down a rabbit hole by adding the weight. just be prepared to. I think Johnson's advice is spot on. Most doors are out of balance, now add 10 pounds? Its going to show it even more. So, if you're planning to add weight, you should be prepared for someone to come out and rebalance it. This is NOT a DIY project they are stupid dangerous.
@@2mustangeit depends on the door length and height really. Not all doors will just be adding 10lbs. You’re not supposed to add insulation to an uninsulated door after springs have already been installed for uninsulated weight. Just asking for one to break then you’ll be out of pocket $300-400 for a new set. Some companies charge $400+ in some states. Garage doors are a lot more complicated than people realize.
@@2mustange I have software that gives my technicians exact numbers 🤷 and really a lot more goes into it than that. The doors weight, drum size and radius all go into engineering the proper spring size. Does it have high lift or is it pitched at a angle, that all changes the IPPT and in turn changes either the gauge wire and or length. If you want more cycles you will have a longer spring but that will also change the gauge needed to match the IPPT. If you run out of room and go too long to fit you can play with the diameter and make it larger or smaller to get different results or even go with a quad spring setup.
I would like to see the Fred's DIY School method and then add the double reflective in a sheet, covering the entire door, because, believe it or not, you are still getting air seeping between the joints. That would seal the entire door face. But you also have to think about sealing the gaps on the sides and at the top/bottom, because you will have a ton of air moving in and out of the garage.
it's not just tensioning the spring, the garage door specialist said they could add extra turns, but it would probably eventually break the spring. Needed to upgrade the spring to compensate for the extra weight. I insulated my garage with Polyisocyanurate reflective foam (R9.6) spaced with wooden pieces (kind of what they use to seperate wood on pallets with)from door (air gapped) makes a huge difference. Used aluminum tape to seal air gaps around foam/frame
Awesome review!!! Thanx a million. Regardless of the naysayers and critics, the rest of us appreciate the simple review and comparison. Definitely food for thought. God Bless!!
Cool experiment but to be honest I would like to see a more controled experiment done inside so the varibles such as lighting and heat can actually be controled. The pannels should also be verticle so each pannel gets the same amount of heat and I would say at least a 2 foot buffer zone from the corners as well. Sit the heaters inside at a certain temp then take your readings from outside.
PS if you do use my idea please give Pawsuasive Dog Teaching a shout out. My Ruby Doo is a resue that had a warning on her paperwork to have 2 people handle her. They also told me she would be impossible to teach. Now she knows over 60 service dog commands and 20 objects by name.
*This is excellent information! I've been searching for something like this for about a month now, and I'm delighted to see a study that compares various insulation options. I'm currently in the process of insulating my garage, and I believe this study will provide valuable insights to anyone undertaking a similar project. Thank you for sharing this valuable research!*
Very interesting and affordable methods to improve the comfort in the garage. I think it would be interesting to do a modified test of the Owens Corning pink with the reflective insulation against the door and/or add the spacing similar to Mr Fred's DYI Garage School method to create an air gap between the pink foam and the door
This was great to see how HEAT would transfer through the garage door. I'm interesting in COLD. Radiant heat. vs insulation / R Factor are different I'm not convinced the results would be the same in winter.
Heat and cold are exactly the same thing, only the direction is different. You're measuring heat transfer from hot areas to cold ones. In the summer heat outside comes in, in winter heat inside goes out.
I’ve done the 1 inch pink foam, many times, very easy, effective and cheap. The fiberglass I’ve replaced several times for people the temp change loosens up the adhesive and the clips bend and fall out over time
@@Crydes mine is 1 inch, yours may be different, they make an adhesive specifically designed for that foam, it won’t react with or melt it in any way, but I just cut it so it slipped into the cavities, that foam comes in 1/2,1,1 1/2, 2, and 2 1/2 inches
My garage door here in N Cakilaky has a ton of "hurricane strapping" that would have to be removed and then reinstalled for everything but the thinnest insulation you used. We did the thin foam insulation in our garage in Idaho and it helped a ton with the cold winters there. Thanks for the great video I enjoy your scientific experiments and the DIY stuff too! I wonder what two layers of the tinfoil bubble wrap with airgaps would do??
I agree with those who suggest the percentage should be based on the absolute scale. But it doesn't matter for heat flow, which is only dependent on the difference in temperature. Q=kΔT. I estimated the actual R values, taking into account the R value of the door itself (Δ20°F). I get the following, normalized to R5 Formular. (Estimate is +/- 10%.) Door Δ20°F - R1.7 Silver reflector Δ55°F - R2.8 Gap filler foam Δ57°F - R2.9 R8 FG Δ61°F - R3.1 2" Rigid Foam Δ77°F - R4.0 R5 Formular Δ97°F - R5.0 DIY Fred Δ100°F - R5.2 I think the most interesting question is why the R8 fiberglass performed so poorly. Possibly because it was pushed in collapsing the depth.
Great comparison! Thank-you! I installed 1” rigid foam board on my garage door a few years ago. It helps, especially when the afternoon sun hits the garage door. Insulating the garage attic made a much larger difference! It now stays 9-10 degrees cooler in summer, compared to the outdoor temperature, and 9-10 degrees warmer in cold weather. We also had a mini-split installed. REALLY NICE! Question: how to install/best way to install rigid foam board into those panels on the garage door. I found a couple ways, have never been satisfied with the results. Any guidance, perhaps a video, would be most appreciated. Love your channel! Thanks again!
I used Smart Shield, a 3mm thick reflective roll from Azn. It worked well. The garage used to be sweltering in the summer and now its bearable. I also put a dark window film on the glass panels and that helps a lot. I do like the glass panels to bring in sunlight even though they allow more radiant energy in. I spent about $90 on the reflective roll and about $20 on the window tint. I have a rolling floor HVAC in the garage when I work there in the summer and winter. I love my man cave. It has everything for a good shop.
That sounds awesome. No solution is perfect, including all of the ones I tested, and your setup sounds fantastic. I really wish I had windows in my door but we bought the home as-is and that's ok. Enjoy that man cave!
Great video and appreciate the effort which went into making it. I planned to buy some of the double reflective material and after seeing the results which you got, I am satisfied that they are close enough, when compared to the more expensive options, and should also be easy to fit. My garage door has kind of raised parts on the inside, so hoping that by glueing the material to these parts, that this will leave an air gap. Hopefully that helps. Late afternoon sun here in southern Spain is brutal, so I am hoping this stuff makes a difference to my garage door temperatures. Just waiting for Amazon to deliver.
When comparing the percentages.. though the double bubble is the worst.. still not far off. When comparing percents. That custom insulation is interesting.
I really appreciate you doing this video. I have been researching for a solution for our three car garage. I found the cell system and was impressed but was not sure if I should go with that solution. Now I will decide either Cell or the Corning. Thank you so much.
great video! looking forward to HOW that garage's ceiling & walls get INSULATED! please do that FIRST, before the cooling part. Or, so its done here in SW FL, USA 🙂
Just buy a winterized insulated garage door and then add a layer of rigid foam on your own. Amazing results! In your case you and also use a foam friendly construction adhesive to adhere another inch or more of rigid foam formular to each panel YIU already filled with formular.
Great effort on this video. BTW, there is another option for keys that is less expensieve than dealer and faster than using a service like you describe. Any LEGITIMATE automotive locksmith can do that even if you have lost your keys for less than the dealer. I work for Pop-A-Lock and do it all day long whether duplicates of existing keys of lost keys replaced. Nobody should be going to a dealer for this!
thank you for taking the time to do this experiment. I dont have a lot of 170 degree days where I live. I don't understand the rationale behind the experiment, why not just use direct sunlight? Also insulation in a garage might also be used to keep it warm. I don't believe reflective material insulates as well from cold as it does from radiant heat.
That would be good to try, yeah. There are many ways to improve this test, like testing it on a south facing garage door in Las Vegas in July as well as an extreme cold test. I feel like this gave me a good idea at least, so it's a start.
For the panels with a reflective side, it makes a difference which way you orient the reflective side. Face in if you want to keep heat in, face out if you want to keep heat out. The insulated cells could be extra effective for climates that expirience hot and cold extreemes as you could make one side face out and one side face in. Just a thought.
Just an FYI, you can’t use percentages with temperature like that. Temperature difference is important, but percentage is meaningless. Convert your temperatures to Celsius, Kelvin, or Rankin and you’ll get different percentages, which tells you there’s a problem.
@@soccerguy2433 as the type of engineer who deals specifically in heat transfer, you’re wrong. Percentages should NEVER be applied to temperatures. Even sticking to the same scale. For example, if the outside temp is 100° and inside is 80°, the insulation is providing a 20° delta. If outside is 120° but inside is 100°, the insulation is exactly the same and providing the same resistance to heat flow, but percentages would suggest it’s different. (16% vs 20%). The point is you can not use percentage to compare temperature. Doesn’t matter if the scale is the same.
@@soccerguy2433 using the percent scale, which is rated better: a panel that reads 5° C on one side and 1° C on the other or one that reads 30° C and 10° C? Which do you think is actually better at blocking heat transfer?
Infrared thermometers do not measure just where the dot is. They measure in a cone which gets bigger as you get farther away. Since the emissivity of metal is far different from foam, your temp measurements will not be accurate because you're measuring areas beyond the paper. Your IR camera has an emissivity adjustment that you need to set for the material you're measuring to calibrate the readings.
One I've seen (and wanted to try myself) is the double reflective and 1" formular. I forget which way is best, the reflective first or reflective second.. but either way, that's what I had seen and wanted to try myself.
Tom's Key rocks! Turns out we have a mutual friend :) Mike is my brother-in-law. Great video. I purchased a roll of the double reflective insulation but haven't installed it yet. Bought before watching your video. Looks like it will definitely make a difference for cheap. Interested to see the results this summer. You have a new subscriber.
Awesome, I find your videos very useful. I was just watching several other videos on this subject for my weekend project. As I watched the last I was notified your was just put online. Yeah for setting the Bell for your favorite subscribers posting. Perfect timing!
That's awesome, Jeff. Glad you were able to find it at just the right time for you. This one was a lot of fun to make and I love getting some (at least somewhat) definitive answers on the best way to get a job done. Best of luck!
Nils, this video is the best ever. I work in my garage every day and getting it to hold the correct temperature would be a lifesaver. Thank you for these tips and I'll be insulating soon.
@@LRN2DIY What I wanted to know was not the garage door heat difference but the overall garage temperature. Do you recall how much the entire garage temperature went down by?
I would like to see a hybrid panel test. Use the bubble foil against the metal skin then put the eps foam on one. Then on another panel bubble foil and the pink R8 traditional fiber glass. I bet would bring those numbers down even more. Even try a 3rd n 4th panel by doing the above 2 with the Fred 1/2 inch foil back foam on the inside of the garage. If it works call it the Larry panel lol
The formular looks the best as well as being the fastest, so if you add the double reflective behind it against the door you'd probably have the best combo.
The red dot isn't where you're measuring. They measure a cone, so the further you are away form the surface, the larger area you are measuring the average temperature of. Try pointing it at a candle flame and moving it away and watch the number drop. You need to have it real close to ensure it's only measuring the surface you're pointing it at.
I think you may have missed one variable. You were just measuring surface temperatures, but some of those insulations are rigid and are likely letting more heat escape into the garage around the edges. I feel like the best solution is going to be something that's soft and will fill in the gaps or a combination of soft and rigid.
Any thoughts to maybe checking how well the garage door manufacturers insulation works? Pretty affordable. Made for the doors, and look like it is supposed to be there. 5 of your 6 options actually call for different springs than a non insulated door torsion system. I get what you are trying to do, but you will cost the viewer more money by not knowing what IPPT is and how its calculated.
The reading on the non contact thermometer depends on the emissivity of the surface. If you want an accurate measurement then put some PVC tape on the surface and measure the temperature of that. You will need to be real close to ensure the full sensor field of view is enveloped by the tape... Or just use a contact thermometer...
Thanks for all the effort put into this. A couple tips to improve accuracy:
1 - The laser dot is marking the center of a circle and the temp is averaged within the circle. The diameter of the circle is dependent on the distance and the angle set by the manufacturer. Check the manual for this info.
2 - the paper wasn't making good contact with the insulation, so there was very little conductive heat transfer.
3 - paint a black matte section directly on the insulation and read the temp off of that at a close range for the best accuracy (verify w/ a thermocouple taped to the service, or similar).
Also the outside temperatures were pretty varied. So, Idk if percent reduction in temperature is all that useful when comparing one panel with a 220 degree outside temp to another with a 180 degree outside temp.
Agree about #3, there's no control for the different emissivity of the materials. Not sure how accurate this analysis ended up being.
Exactly, that is one reason he was getting the different temps on the outside, especially between the two temp guns. 1 foot difference in distance makes a huge difference in temp reading.
Would like to see another video with a lil mom consistency
@@brendancurtin679 I agree that it should be realistic.
By the way, I've also installed a mini split AC in my garage. I used the 24,000 BTU unit from Senville for our 3-car garage, which is much cheaper than most units at $1250 US dollars at the time I purchased in Feb of 2023. A guy in my neighborhood installed one before me and he recommended it based on their price, and phone support. He called all of the main companies and Senville's support was the best. I can attest to the support because I ran into an issue with the AC drain pan connector leaking, and they sent me a whole new inside unit. I was initially considering the 18,000 BTU unit, but I'm glad I went bigger. I left unit going nonstop during the hot months and set to 76 degree, it felt really cool in there. It's so nice! One thing I'll warn you of is be thinking about what you'll do with the condensation. These units can fill a 5 gallon bucket in a day, and the ground will be saturated where the drain line drips. I ran PVC to a flowerbed about 10 feet away and the plants in that area love the extra water.
Great video comparison! Having a 100° garage was very unpleasant! After 2 years with my insulation I have to say that my garage is much more people friendly now. Thanks for the shout out!
Where do I buy your product Mr.Fred. I want to put in my garage door.
Would painting the exterior garage door with ceramic paint help with the R-value?
As some one who lives in PA. It would be amazing to have this test done in the winter.
IR thermometers measurement is dependant upon the emissivity of the material. If you want accurate results then stick some black pvc tape on and ensure it completely covers the field of view ( touch it against the material or cover a much larger area than you're measuring.)
This can completely change the readings.
Came here for this comment, and agree totally.
that's why he was using the paper...
Also get closer. The laser dot is just for aiming - these IR thermometers read from a cone, 10:1 for the Klein single-laser unit. That means reading from 8' is measuring a bigger spot than the paper.
@@slamdvw... Also, looking through the IR camera from 8:15 is clear that the paper is only warm in about the middle third, where the tape is holding it near the insulation. The "wings" that curve away from the wall are almost room temperature. Interestingly, you can also see the "heat reflection" of the foil-based insulators.
What are you talking about)))) look's like this guy took IR thermometer for the first time in his life🤣🤣🤣
After watching this i was about to go get some OC Foamular boards for my garage but luckily did some quick research. Owens Corning warns against using their boards in this manner because they are combustible and require a thermal barrier. I hope you put up a disclaimer.
Did you find a replacement?
I did the 1" foam board on my door a few years ago and have had excellent results.
The double reflective insulation is a radiant barrier and needs an air gap. If you install it on the inside ridges of the door with polyseamseal, it will seal the segments of door and have the highest R value with the least amount of weight.
I just used the Owens Corning fiberglass insulation on my 2 car garage 8 panel door and I only had to pay $142 from Lowe’s for the 2 kits. Not only is it warmer in my garage but the door is remarkably quieter when it’s operating.
I really appreciate thorough comparison of the techniques, their effectiveness and cost!
I still haven't done the insulation because I was wondering what method to use from the different videos on TH-cam but you did the work for me, now I know which one I'll use. Just EXCELLENT !!! Great video, Thank you !
Awesome video as always!
I live in London in a 1960s era apartment block with no insulation (it's crazy, I know). I'm on the 10th floor and have a wall of windows that are 80s-90s era but so drafty in the winter wind. I've done all the rubber strips and plastic sheeting stuff, but what really works is putting in foam panels in the windows! Yes it blocks the view, but when I wake up for work in winter it's dark outside and when I get home from work it's dark already, so it's no big deal. The foam is pretty easy to work with for beginners and is renter friendly.
A few years ago I did an install using the owens corning kit and then went around the edges with foil tape. It was a literal night and day difference in the garage temps. I did have to have a local company come out and replace my springs due to the added weight on a double door, but it was completely worth it! I also want to add, you should have your door springs adjusted regularly, it’s cheap to have them come out and they do lose tension over time and tend to stabilize after about 2 years of daily use. It’s not really a one and done thing.
I agree completely. I adjust my door springs myself after watching my installer and watching several TH-cam videos. ( I’ve been involved in home construction for years).
Great video. However, please note that Owens Corning Foamular products are combustible and must be covered by a 15-minute thermal barrier I would not recommend using Foamular to insulate a garage door.
Why
@@challengerking4358 bc fire bad
@@challengerking4358 fuel, oxygen and spark. That is how things combust.🤦🏻♂️
Nonsense
Literally everything in my shop is combustible! 😂
I would think the dominant factors are flammability, durability in presence of moisture, and weight. The pink foam flammability is scary to me, I won't be doing that though it seems like best option otherwise. The eps (not xps extruded) styrofoam can absorb water I thought. Sealing it like Fred's method seems like asking for trouble. But maybe the foil faced foam options deal with water so those then stand out as best. That service call to adjust spring will cost more than the entire installation so there's that...
The thin reflective sheet could be mounted with an air gap. So they could have been mounted to the door frame rather than the door panels.
This would add a R value of about 1, excluding the thermal conductivity of any material installed between the door and the sheet to keep the air in place. Per my calculations, that would bring the option up to an R value of about 3.8.
I think another yt video mention that without the air gap the double reflective insulation became heat conductor and be less effective. Any reflective material is for repelling radiant heat transfer not for stopping conduction heat.
How I installed mine. Made a solid difference but not sure exact numbers
what about to keep heat in during the winter?
As I understand it, the double reflective stuff is supposed to have an air gap. It's in the instructions. Using the reflective stuff as the final layer in Fred's method would likely increase the efficiency.
This was a really informative and well done video. I will definitely use the information I learned here. I did want to make one suggestion: a percentage temperature drop isn't really an accurate conclusion from the results. The reason is that our temperature scales' zero points aren't really zero temperature. They're just arbitrary points on the spectrum we assigned to be 0. 0 Celsius is more useful than 0 Fahrenheit, obviously, but neither truly represents zero temperature. Point being, 100 degrees is not twice as hot as 50 degrees and a drop from 100 to 50 wouldn't really represent a 50% drop. The only way percentages would work would be if you were using the Kelvin scale, whose 0 point truly is zero heat at all. But since none of us think in that scale, everything else would be meaningless to us. I think using actual temperature drop would be a better measurement. I'm sure you converted to percentage because your outside high temps weren't all the same and you were trying to account for that, which makes sense, but I think the problems with percentages just compound the discrepancy.
Great tip on the rebalancing the garage door spring. I hadn't thought of that.
Having the lower panels much hotter than the upper panels completely invalidates your test. The higher temperature on the outside will greatly increase the amount of heat radiated outward and thus a good part of your “greater” temperature differential inside to outside has nothing to do with the insulation on the inside, but is due to a faulty test. You need to test again ensuring that you have the exact same temperature on the outside of each panel.
Yep. This exactly.
TBH, I also question the overall utility of this. I'm sure it helps some but with all those gaps in a garage door, the thing's gonna leak heat like a sieve no matter what you do.
The lower panels are hotter because the insulation, all the heat that would be leaking through the door is being isolated on the outside since the insulation isnt letting it through. So you could actually use these outside panel temps to show which insulation is better as well
Remember, the lower panels will probably be hotter due to proximity to the concrete landing in front of the garage. Depending on how hot it is outside, the lower panels may be exposed to more heat.
I would have just kept ambient temp outside and heated or cooled inside the garage and monitored the face temps of the panels. You need to adhere the same material to the inside, and make sure the thermometer is only measuring that material for emissivity reasons. The IR thermometer measures a circle much bigger than the laser dot.
@@ColonelSandersLite It makes a huge difference. Just make sure you don't have air gaps around the door.
There is a lot of these vids out there and it's a great project for the DIY person. one thing that is often left out is the insulation adds extra weight to the door. not a ton but still extra. I learned this the hard way. That extra weight also wears on your springs and can shorten their life.
Why is everyone so scared of these "torsion" garage door springs they are completely safe to DIY. They are not "tension" springs with hundreds or thousands of pounds of pressure on them. I really feel like there is this lie that people that overcharge to replace these springs "professionally" are perpetuating all over the place that they are super dangerous. Buy the $12 proper tools to adjust them and save $500 every time they fail, and fail they will because they don't hold up to as much use as we put them through now.
But if you do add insulation to the door you should not just "turn up your springs" you should replace them with heavier springs so they are not straining more against the load and will fail faster.
Torsion garage door springs are DIY friendly! Tell your friends!
You could combine the Owen's Corning NGX with the lightweight double reflective insulation that is taped to the frame, and give you an air gap between them. That might be the best combination.
That would be a great one to try for sure!
I did this as well for my garage door. Made it bearable in the summer with a west facing garage door in the south.
do you mean the double reflective bit goes first in the slot and then the NGX?
I actually just did this! Double reflective insulation before putting on the NGX and it’s made a huge difference. So much of the heat doesn’t enter the garage now 👍🏽
With those IR thermometers the further away you read, the more area you are getting the measure from... the laser dot seems to be the only point you are measuring but read the manual and it will tell you the area being read with distance...
Great info. I'll have to experiment with that to see what that might change.
Don’t pay attention to my username as I’ve had this account for like 13 years. I work as a garage door technician. You’re never supposed to add insulation to an uninsulated door without changing the springs. The springs are designed by weight so adding to it after will screw that up.
So if you’re planning on adding DIY insulation, also plan on paying $300+ for new springs. Adding more winds to the current springs will just reduce the life cycle and cause them to break prematurely. Garage doors are a lot more complicated than people realize.
Very interesting! Thanks for the summary at the end - I love that the top two in performance didn't add too much weight, were economical, and one is pretty quick and easy to install. Could be interesting to add in the insulation installed by a garage door company to the test.
Hey Mike, for sure. There are a dozen or more other solutions that would be fun to try but at least, like you mentioned, there are some efficient and inexpensive options to start with.
Reflective face insulation is by far most effective with an air gap. It usually says so on the insulation board itself. It's manufactured to be used as sub-siding with either vinyl siding or brick on the outside, creating that inherent gap.
The DIY Fred solution is just following recommendations from the insulation maker, and then doubling it up because why not?
My garage is south-facing and very hot in the summer with internal temperatures slightly higher than the ambient temperature. This test was very helpful, thank you!
13:57 the Springs are considered a wear product that occasionally will require replacement. Tighter springs result in shorter life, so the cost of the added insulation could escalate
True, and probably best to oversize springs when replacement time comes.
Excellent video - thanks! I used 2" rigid foam insulation on my garage doors, but I installed it with the silver side facing out to better reflect the heat. I tried it both ways before doing the whole thing and it was much cooler with the silver side facing out.
The least effective at 43% is actually the best value, and since the max performer is 56%, the performance between the two isn't quite as much as you might think. If it was me, I'd simply take all the bubble wrap I get from Amazon and See's and get to work taping them up. In most cases, the bottom line isn't heat flow, but the cost to heat or cool the heat flow. "Cost" includes mechanical heating and cooling, but also includes the insulation treatment. It actually takes rather little improvement of a bare metal panel to make a big difference in performance. The first 4 of "R" are the most impactful.
It's worth noting that is only true on the day of purchase but as time goes on your heating or ac cost will likely trump that initial cost difference.
You cannot take percentages of degree measurements and compare them. It's meaningless. What's 10% of zero degrees? You have to convert to Kelvin first.
I have used Tom’s Key and it worked fantastic, was easy and extra keys programmed all work perfectly. Would recommend to anyone. The local Chrysler dealer was a major rip off.
Most of the heat leak will come through the metal of the garage door itself. You should try a kit that attached to the inside of the metal. I was able to cut the kit so that when closed it butts up pretty tightly together and you take the hinges off 1 or 2 at a time and run the foam and radiant barrier underneath. The screws will still conduct but it also makes the door significantly quieter in operation as well
IR thermometers measure an average of an area in a cone that gets bigger the further you are away from the thing. So when your pointing it at those panels you aren't getting the temperature of where the laser is, that's just to help aim and is grossly misleading.
Great timing as temperatures are changing. Now I won't be running the heater non stop! Thanks for the info!
You bet, and thanks for watching! I'm excited to get my garage outfitted to not lose heat/cold air as well!
Awesome! We are about to do this with our garage due to a significant temperature difference between it and the living spaces, as well as it being under living spaces. Can't wait to see your winter comparison as well!
I insulated our garage door with styrofoam panels, and it didn't make much difference in the garage temperature, BUT it definitely decreased the icy draft flowing down the door in winter. Comfort level is much higher.
Door faces north, single garage is in walk-out (and drive-out) basement, almost 100% underground with living spaces above and on one side. Keeping cold out is more important then keeping heat out.
Great test. I like the results you came up with. Remember if you add weight it might not just be adding tension to existing springs but a completely new set of springs. Additional new doors use thermal breaks so the outside metal cant transfer heat inside this also helps improve the U-factor. See Clopay IECC compliance.
Minor suggestions: most paint reflect some Infrared, which is how the thermal temperature measuring devices works. So you might have been getting a reflection of the heat source when making the outside measurements. Best to turn off the outside heat source and move them out of the reflection line, or just use a direct contact thermometer. None of this should change the relative performance between the samples though. It just might have exaggerated the temp difference.
On the solid owens corning closed cell the 1" and add an air gap. Then the reflective over that also taping the sides.
The reflective works better with an airgap you you put it right on the metal it lowers the effects, thats why the bottom left one works the best.
As far as getting a 2" thick sheet in, no problem, cut it into 2x2 squars
Pluse the 6" the side rails are 3" each side added. Take a circlur saw and cut a groove down the center you slide one side in add gap filler then slide the other side infill the gap with spray foam and run foil tape over it.
One big draw back with a foam insulation if it burns it gives off very toxic gases, by code it cant be exposed. You have to have a 2 hour firewall over it.
As a garage door guy I recommend the bubble insulation. Any of the other choices not just required adding tension but to do it properly the spring needs to get changed to match the new doors weight. That repair is usually more than the cost of insulation. If you want to go with the thicker stuff I recommend doing it when you're already planning on changing out the springs. Springs are only rated for 10,000 cycles and depending on how you use your door those 10,000 can add up pretty quickly.
From what i have researched, gauge, length, quarter turn all determine what can be lifted and the gauge usually determines life cycle if done correctly. But in most calculators they give a range. This method is adding 10lbs so likely can still be within spec
@@2mustange Probably, but not certain. You'll probably get away with not replacing the spring.... But, the other thing is how old is it? If its pretty old might as well replace it,.. Its easy to get sucked down a rabbit hole by adding the weight. just be prepared to. I think Johnson's advice is spot on. Most doors are out of balance, now add 10 pounds? Its going to show it even more. So, if you're planning to add weight, you should be prepared for someone to come out and rebalance it. This is NOT a DIY project they are stupid dangerous.
Well they do make high life cycle springs that are made to last past 10k
@@2mustangeit depends on the door length and height really. Not all doors will just be adding 10lbs. You’re not supposed to add insulation to an uninsulated door after springs have already been installed for uninsulated weight. Just asking for one to break then you’ll be out of pocket $300-400 for a new set. Some companies charge $400+ in some states. Garage doors are a lot more complicated than people realize.
@@2mustange I have software that gives my technicians exact numbers 🤷 and really a lot more goes into it than that. The doors weight, drum size and radius all go into engineering the proper spring size. Does it have high lift or is it pitched at a angle, that all changes the IPPT and in turn changes either the gauge wire and or length. If you want more cycles you will have a longer spring but that will also change the gauge needed to match the IPPT. If you run out of room and go too long to fit you can play with the diameter and make it larger or smaller to get different results or even go with a quad spring setup.
can really effectively insulate a thin tin door like that, a little here or there but nothing like an exterior home wall
Omg even tho I wasn’t gonna do anything with my garage door, your video made me watch the whole thing😂 super interesting and informative!
Glad you liked it and thanks for checking it out!
Add the small air gap before the pink foam and you have a cheap solution to all your problems
Great video. I had no idea how much heat went through my garage door until I got a thermal camera for Christmas.
I would like to see the Fred's DIY School method and then add the double reflective in a sheet, covering the entire door, because, believe it or not, you are still getting air seeping between the joints. That would seal the entire door face. But you also have to think about sealing the gaps on the sides and at the top/bottom, because you will have a ton of air moving in and out of the garage.
Looked up the winner today and it’s 43 dollars per 4x8 sheet.
it's not just tensioning the spring, the garage door specialist said they could add extra turns, but it would probably eventually break the spring. Needed to upgrade the spring to compensate for the extra weight.
I insulated my garage with Polyisocyanurate reflective foam (R9.6) spaced with wooden pieces (kind of what they use to seperate wood on pallets with)from door (air gapped) makes a huge difference. Used aluminum tape to seal air gaps around foam/frame
Awesome review!!! Thanx a million. Regardless of the naysayers and critics, the rest of us appreciate the simple review and comparison. Definitely food for thought. God Bless!!
Cool experiment but to be honest I would like to see a more controled experiment done inside so the varibles such as lighting and heat can actually be controled. The pannels should also be verticle so each pannel gets the same amount of heat and I would say at least a 2 foot buffer zone from the corners as well. Sit the heaters inside at a certain temp then take your readings from outside.
PS if you do use my idea please give Pawsuasive Dog Teaching a shout out. My Ruby Doo is a resue that had a warning on her paperwork to have 2 people handle her. They also told me she would be impossible to teach. Now she knows over 60 service dog commands and 20 objects by name.
*This is excellent information! I've been searching for something like this for about a month now, and I'm delighted to see a study that compares various insulation options. I'm currently in the process of insulating my garage, and I believe this study will provide valuable insights to anyone undertaking a similar project. Thank you for sharing this valuable research!*
Very interesting and affordable methods to improve the comfort in the garage. I think it would be interesting to do a modified test of the Owens Corning pink with the reflective insulation against the door and/or add the spacing similar to Mr Fred's DYI Garage School method to create an air gap between the pink foam and the door
This was great to see how HEAT would transfer through the garage door. I'm interesting in COLD. Radiant heat. vs insulation / R Factor are different I'm not convinced the results would be the same in winter.
Heat and cold are exactly the same thing, only the direction is different. You're measuring heat transfer from hot areas to cold ones. In the summer heat outside comes in, in winter heat inside goes out.
I’ve done the 1 inch pink foam, many times, very easy, effective and cheap. The fiberglass I’ve replaced several times for people the temp change loosens up the adhesive and the clips bend and fall out over time
How do you attached the 1" pink foam? The gap seems to be 2".
@@Crydes mine is 1 inch, yours may be different, they make an adhesive specifically designed for that foam, it won’t react with or melt it in any way, but I just cut it so it slipped into the cavities, that foam comes in 1/2,1,1 1/2, 2, and 2 1/2 inches
My garage door here in N Cakilaky has a ton of "hurricane strapping" that would have to be removed and then reinstalled for everything but the thinnest insulation you used. We did the thin foam insulation in our garage in Idaho and it helped a ton with the cold winters there. Thanks for the great video I enjoy your scientific experiments and the DIY stuff too! I wonder what two layers of the tinfoil bubble wrap with airgaps would do??
I agree with those who suggest the percentage should be based on the absolute scale. But it doesn't matter for heat flow, which is only dependent on the difference in temperature. Q=kΔT.
I estimated the actual R values, taking into account the R value of the door itself (Δ20°F). I get the following, normalized to R5 Formular. (Estimate is +/- 10%.)
Door Δ20°F - R1.7
Silver reflector Δ55°F - R2.8
Gap filler foam Δ57°F - R2.9
R8 FG Δ61°F - R3.1
2" Rigid Foam Δ77°F - R4.0
R5 Formular Δ97°F - R5.0
DIY Fred Δ100°F - R5.2
I think the most interesting question is why the R8 fiberglass performed so poorly. Possibly because it was pushed in collapsing the depth.
Great comparison! Thank-you!
I installed 1” rigid foam board on my garage door a few years ago. It helps, especially when the afternoon sun hits the garage door. Insulating the garage attic made a much larger difference! It now stays 9-10 degrees cooler in summer, compared to the outdoor temperature, and 9-10 degrees warmer in cold weather. We also had a mini-split installed. REALLY NICE!
Question: how to install/best way to install rigid foam board into those panels on the garage door. I found a couple ways, have never been satisfied with the results. Any guidance, perhaps a video, would be most appreciated.
Love your channel! Thanks again!
I used Smart Shield, a 3mm thick reflective roll from Azn. It worked well. The garage used to be sweltering in the summer and now its bearable. I also put a dark window film on the glass panels and that helps a lot. I do like the glass panels to bring in sunlight even though they allow more radiant energy in. I spent about $90 on the reflective roll and about $20 on the window tint. I have a rolling floor HVAC in the garage when I work there in the summer and winter. I love my man cave. It has everything for a good shop.
That sounds awesome. No solution is perfect, including all of the ones I tested, and your setup sounds fantastic. I really wish I had windows in my door but we bought the home as-is and that's ok. Enjoy that man cave!
What brand and model HVAC and has it been reliable?
Thank you! I’ve been interested in insulating my one-car garage shop for a while now and this is incredibly helpful. 😁
Great video and appreciate the effort which went into making it. I planned to buy some of the double reflective material and after seeing the results which you got, I am satisfied that they are close enough, when compared to the more expensive options, and should also be easy to fit. My garage door has kind of raised parts on the inside, so hoping that by glueing the material to these parts, that this will leave an air gap. Hopefully that helps. Late afternoon sun here in southern Spain is brutal, so I am hoping this stuff makes a difference to my garage door temperatures. Just waiting for Amazon to deliver.
Foil backed hard 2” foam insulation to provide a radiant barrier would probably be the best option for speed/weight/price.
When comparing the percentages.. though the double bubble is the worst.. still not far off. When comparing percents.
That custom insulation is interesting.
I really appreciate you doing this video. I have been researching for a solution for our three car garage. I found the cell system and was impressed but was not sure if I should go with that solution. Now I will decide either Cell or the Corning. Thank you so much.
great video! looking forward to HOW that garage's ceiling & walls get INSULATED! please do that FIRST, before the cooling part. Or, so its done here in SW FL, USA 🙂
Just buy a winterized insulated garage door and then add a layer of rigid foam on your own. Amazing results! In your case you and also use a foam friendly construction adhesive to adhere another inch or more of rigid foam formular to each panel YIU already filled with formular.
Great effort on this video. BTW, there is another option for keys that is less expensieve than dealer and faster than using a service like you describe. Any LEGITIMATE automotive locksmith can do that even if you have lost your keys for less than the dealer. I work for Pop-A-Lock and do it all day long whether duplicates of existing keys of lost keys replaced. Nobody should be going to a dealer for this!
Nice video. The Foamular NGX 1" in Reno NV Sep 2024 is $32 a sheet or $128 for a 16'x8' door!
Dude- you’re in my head! Garage cooling AND decorative hardware are both on my list. Haha
thank you for taking the time to do this experiment. I dont have a lot of 170 degree days where I live. I don't understand the rationale behind the experiment, why not just use direct sunlight? Also insulation in a garage might also be used to keep it warm. I don't believe reflective material insulates as well from cold as it does from radiant heat.
I don't know how long you had the heater on the outside spot but I think the real test, which would be pretty hard to do, is eight hours in the heat.
That would be good to try, yeah. There are many ways to improve this test, like testing it on a south facing garage door in Las Vegas in July as well as an extreme cold test. I feel like this gave me a good idea at least, so it's a start.
For the panels with a reflective side, it makes a difference which way you orient the reflective side. Face in if you want to keep heat in, face out if you want to keep heat out. The insulated cells could be extra effective for climates that expirience hot and cold extreemes as you could make one side face out and one side face in. Just a thought.
Just an FYI, you can’t use percentages with temperature like that. Temperature difference is important, but percentage is meaningless. Convert your temperatures to Celsius, Kelvin, or Rankin and you’ll get different percentages, which tells you there’s a problem.
No. Because while the value of the percentage is different it still means the same as long as you use the same scale for each panel
@@soccerguy2433 as the type of engineer who deals specifically in heat transfer, you’re wrong. Percentages should NEVER be applied to temperatures. Even sticking to the same scale.
For example, if the outside temp is 100° and inside is 80°, the insulation is providing a 20° delta. If outside is 120° but inside is 100°, the insulation is exactly the same and providing the same resistance to heat flow, but percentages would suggest it’s different. (16% vs 20%). The point is you can not use percentage to compare temperature. Doesn’t matter if the scale is the same.
So based on the information in the video which do you say is the most effect.
Thanks Mr Meteorologist
@@soccerguy2433 using the percent scale, which is rated better: a panel that reads 5° C on one side and 1° C on the other or one that reads 30° C and 10° C? Which do you think is actually better at blocking heat transfer?
Great video, all valuable information and gives me exactly the path forward
Great video! If you haven't done it already, compare wall insulation types against closed cell foam insulation.
Infrared thermometers do not measure just where the dot is. They measure in a cone which gets bigger as you get farther away. Since the emissivity of metal is far different from foam, your temp measurements will not be accurate because you're measuring areas beyond the paper. Your IR camera has an emissivity adjustment that you need to set for the material you're measuring to calibrate the readings.
One I've seen (and wanted to try myself) is the double reflective and 1" formular. I forget which way is best, the reflective first or reflective second.. but either way, that's what I had seen and wanted to try myself.
Tom's Key rocks! Turns out we have a mutual friend :) Mike is my brother-in-law. Great video. I purchased a roll of the double reflective insulation but haven't installed it yet. Bought before watching your video. Looks like it will definitely make a difference for cheap. Interested to see the results this summer. You have a new subscriber.
Great video. I love the window stickers.
Awesome, I find your videos very useful. I was just watching several other videos on this subject for my weekend project. As I watched the last I was notified your was just put online. Yeah for setting the Bell for your favorite subscribers posting. Perfect timing!
That's awesome, Jeff. Glad you were able to find it at just the right time for you. This one was a lot of fun to make and I love getting some (at least somewhat) definitive answers on the best way to get a job done. Best of luck!
Nils, this video is the best ever. I work in my garage every day and getting it to hold the correct temperature would be a lifesaver. Thank you for these tips and I'll be insulating soon.
Thanks so much, Mitch. I'm sure your garage will feel quite a bit better once you insulate that door, especially with that California heat, brother!
@@LRN2DIY
What I wanted to know was not the garage door heat difference but the overall garage temperature. Do you recall how much the entire garage temperature went down by?
Thank you! This was awesome and just what I needed to understand.
props on your audio volume!
I would like to see a hybrid panel test. Use the bubble foil against the metal skin then put the eps foam on one. Then on another panel bubble foil and the pink R8 traditional fiber glass. I bet would bring those numbers down even more. Even try a 3rd n 4th panel by doing the above 2 with the Fred 1/2 inch foil back foam on the inside of the garage. If it works call it the Larry panel lol
Fantastic, thank you so much for your efforts. I will be going with the 1" formular.
Hell yes! Thank you Mr. Perfect, for making This video
Great content on all videos
Wow that is a lot of effort,impressive
Home Depot says all the products you linked too are no longer available.
Thank you for posting this helpful video
The formular looks the best as well as being the fastest, so if you add the double reflective behind it against the door you'd probably have the best combo.
That’s what I did. And very pleased with the results.
Excellent comparison.
The red dot isn't where you're measuring. They measure a cone, so the further you are away form the surface, the larger area you are measuring the average temperature of. Try pointing it at a candle flame and moving it away and watch the number drop. You need to have it real close to ensure it's only measuring the surface you're pointing it at.
I think you may have missed one variable. You were just measuring surface temperatures, but some of those insulations are rigid and are likely letting more heat escape into the garage around the edges. I feel like the best solution is going to be something that's soft and will fill in the gaps or a combination of soft and rigid.
Any thoughts to maybe checking how well the garage door manufacturers insulation works? Pretty affordable. Made for the doors, and look like it is supposed to be there. 5 of your 6 options actually call for different springs than a non insulated door torsion system. I get what you are trying to do, but you will cost the viewer more money by not knowing what IPPT is and how its calculated.
Your videos are just awesome! I'm just learning, but you're a pro.
The reading on the non contact thermometer depends on the emissivity of the surface. If you want an accurate measurement then put some PVC tape on the surface and measure the temperature of that. You will need to be real close to ensure the full sensor field of view is enveloped by the tape... Or just use a contact thermometer...
Thx so much for the information and your time, appreciate it! Great information!
most excellent offering 👍
Excellent, excellent video. Thank you
Knowledge is power thanks for sharing
freds cell has 2 radiant barriers. you could probably skip the air gap and just use layers of foil backed EPS to get better results.
Just the video I was looking for!