Winter is here, and we thought we’d take a light-hearted look at how TLX Gold and Silver compare with the insulation material used where it’s really cold – SNOW! And what building is better tried and tested in cold climates than the igloo?
So how does an Igloo measure up to current building principles?
- Draught proofing. The entrance and lower half of the structure is below ground level, with guard walls providing shielding from the icy gales
- No gaps. The snow blocks are friction fitted with a saw – literally, with an ice layer bonding the blocks together without any gaps. (Beats PIR board!) TLX Silver and TLX Gold create continuous insulation layers without gaps
- Insulate. Wind-driven snow containing 90% air is chosen for the blocks, with a thermal conductivity λ= 0.20 W/mK. TLX Silver and TLX Gold have low core conductivity values (λ <0.035 W/mK) because the polyester wadding is mostly air inside
- Eliminate condensation. At subzero temperatures vapour turns straight into ice so this isn’t a problem. No risk of this with TLX Silver and Gold tested solutions either!
If the ice walls are lined with skins then less heat is absorbed by the walls – which makes life inside a few degrees warmer.
If only they’d had TLX Gold!