Zwerius, from the Neatherlands, is a new member of the EcoRenovator conversation.
He recently started a thread, that pointed to his site in Dutch about his successful efforts to dramatically reduce heat loss through the exterior door to his house.
His original Dutch post
SHOULD_NOT_BE_MISSED and is made available in English.
The secret to Zwerius' success is his use of a radical, newly-available insulation called
Vacuum Panel Insulation (AKA: "VIP").
I calculated the R-value of the material he was using in Imperial units, and it is R-21.3/inch in US terms.
That makes this stuff a real game changer, which could find use in exterior doors, as Zwerius has done, also for ultra-efficient refrigerators, etc.
I found some US sources of information at
TOOLBASE, which gives a very good breakdown of the technology, it's virtues and weak points, primarily vulnerability to puncture.
I also found
THIS_SITE, which is a US company that sells VIP panels.
I called the above firm just now and they are forwarding information to me and I will make it available to this thread.
HERE_IS a European article from 2009 that goes into good detail, too.
I did a brief preliminary search for DIY efforts regarding VIP making, and didn't locate anything in the short time I searched... but it sure would be a tremendous boon to be able to do it.
More Info:
- HERE
- HERE
- HERE
- HERE
- HERE
- HERE
- HERE
Best,
-AC