Has anyone added the reflective insulation AFTER a year without? How was the change?

[starremi]

Hi All,

I'm wondering how much the reflective

insulation

really does. I live in Oregon in a geodesic

dome

from Pacific Domes in Ashland, OR. We moved into it on April 1 of last year and got enough of a taste of the cold to know we need to prepare this year.

Our initial thought is that we'll start with a wood stove and no

insulation

, and we'll only add the insulation if that isn't enough. From our perspective, burning another cord of wood is cheaper than insulating it.

That said, I am wondering if anyone has direct experience going from no insulation, to having the reflective stuff?

I've read this discussion:
http://www.yurtforum.com/forums/yurt...ion-139-3.html

And I am inclined to think that insulation may be more cost hassle than it's worth in moderate Oregon, especially given the odd shape of the geodesic

dome

. We're hoping a nice dry fire with no insulation will prevent mold and only cost an extra cord or two of wood.

[Jafo]

The reflective insulation works very well IMO for radiant heat. It does not hold in warm air like fiberglass or other types of insulation. It bounces the radiant heat back towards the contents of the yurt. You will require much less wood if you use it. You will still need to keep the stove going 24/7 but you won't have to burn it as hot if you understand my meaning. As soon as the heat source goes out, the yurt will get cold.

[starremi]

Cool, thanks! Anyone else?

I wonder if it'd tend to create

moisture

problems. The dome has a bunch of triangles, so we'd have many, many air gaps at the overlay points (unless we taped them and went over all of the windows and skyline, which, frankly, we aren't likely to do). I do wonder if having that material there with a 0.5'' air gap behind it and lots of leakage would create

moisture

problems. That is our biggest concern.

[Jafo]

I would not imagine much for moisture issues. You do not need to make it tight. Tape where you must to keep it together, but you still want it to breathe.