Insulation Ratings: Calculating R Factor, K Factor & C Factor

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PostedonJune14,2011byThermaxxJackets
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The R Factor, K Factor and C Factor of Insulation

Insulationtermscanbequiteconfusingtoanyoneoutsidetheindustry.Ifyouveever
boughtinsulationforyourhouse,youknowthatinsulationwithahighRfactorisbetter.
Butwhat,exactly,doesthatmean?DidyouknowthattheRFactordependsonother
factors?
Whenitcomestobuyingmorespecificinsulationproducts,likeremovableinsulation
jacketsforhotpipes,understandingtheparticularsofthethreemeasuresofinsulationis
key.Inordertounderstandthewell-knownRfactoritsimportanttounderstandthe
factorsuponwhichitrelies,theKfactorandCfactor.
Ifyouareseekingouttheformulastocalculatethesefactors,checkoutourR,C&KFactorFormulaConversion
Tablethatlistsalltheformulasdiscussedinthisarticle.Formoreinformation,readon!

IWant

KFactor
I
Have

KFactor

CFactor

CFactor

RFactor

C=K-factor/in.of

R=in.ofthickness/K-

thickness

factor

K=C-factorin.of

R=1/C-factor

thickness
RFactor

K=in.ofthickness/R-

C-1/R-factor

factor
Noneof

K=BTU-in/hrftF

C=BTU/(hrftF)

R=hft F/BTU

the
Above

The K Factor of Insulation

What is the K Factor of Insulation?
TheKfactorofinsulationrepresentsthematerialsthermalconductivityorabilitytoconductheat.Usually,insulation
materialshaveaKFactoroflessthanone.ThelowertheKfactor,thebettertheinsulation.Thetextbookdefinitionof

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theKfactorisThetimerateofsteadyheatflowthroughaunitareaofhomogeneousmaterialinducedbyaunit
temperaturegradientinadirectionperpendiculartothatunitarea.Thatsamouthful.
Simplified,theKfactoristhemeasureofheatthatpassesthroughonesquarefootofmaterialthatisoneinchthickin
anhour.

How Do I Calculate the K Factor of Insulation?

IfRfactorisunknown,theformulatocalculatetheKfactorofinsulationis:
Kfactor=BTU-in/hrft2F

or
BritishThermalUnit-InchPerSquareFootPerHourPerFahrenheitDegree
IfRfactorisknow,thiseasierformulacanbeusedtocalculatetheKfactor:
Kfactor=inchesofthickness/RFactor

How is the K Factor of Insulation Reported?

Kfactorsarereportedatoneormanymeantemperatures.Themeantemperatureistheaverageofthesumofthe
hottestandcoldestsurfacetemperatureswhichtheinsulationmaterialisexposedto.
Putmoresimply,thetestingapparatusthatdeterminestheKfactorofaninsulationmaterialplacesasampleofthe
materialbetweentwoplates,hot&cold,andtheaverageofthesurfacetemperaturesofthosetwoplatesequalsthe
meantemperature.HereisanexampleofaninsulationmaterialsKfactorreport:

viaNomacoInsulation

Noticethatasthemeantemperaturerises,sodoestheKfactor.ItsimportanttoobservetheKfactor&mean
temperaturewhencomparinginsulation.

The C Factor of Insulation

What is the C Factor of Insulation?
TheCfactorstandsforThermalConductanceFactor.TheCfactor,liketheKfactor,isarateofheattransferthrough
amaterial.ThelowertheCfactor,thebettertheinsulatingpropertiesofthematerial.Itisthequantityofheatthat
passesthroughafootofinsulationmaterial.
TheCfactorisdependentuponthethicknessoftheinsulation.Thethickertheinsulationis,thelowertheCfactorwill
beandthusthebetterthematerialwillbeatinsulating.ThisisoneofthemaindifferencesbetweentheKfactorand
Cfactor,becausegenerallythethicknessofaninsulationmaterialwillnotaffectitsKfactor.

How Do I Calculate the C Factor of Insulation?

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IftheKfactorisunknown,theformulatocalculatetheCfactorofinsulationis:
BTU/(hrftF)

or
Btus/hourpersquarefootperdegreeFoftemperaturedifference
IftheKfactorisknown,thiseasierformulacanbeused:
Cfactor=Kfactor/inchesofthickness

The R Factor
What is the R Factor of Insulation?
TheRfactorpullstogetheralloftheinformationoftheotherfactorsand
makesiteasytojudgetheeffectivenessofinsulatingmaterial.TheRfactor
ofinsulationcanbefoundmosteasilyoftheinsulationfactorsdiscussed,
anditisthemostpopularindicatorofamaterialsinsulatorproperties.
Generallyitislistedonaninsulationmaterialslabel.TheRfactorstandsfor
thermalresistance.ThehighertheRfactor,thebettertheinsulation.
ThetextbookdefinitionforRFactoris:thequantitydeterminedbythe
temperaturedifference,atsteadystate,betweentwodefinedsurfacesofa
materialorconstructionthatinducesaunitheatflowthroughaunitarea.
Arenttextbookssupposedtobehelpful?
imagebyJackAmick

Tosimplify,theRfactorisavariablevaluethatmeasurestheabilityofa
materialtoblockheatratherthanradiateit.ThevariableistheCfactor,whichisdependentuponthethicknessofthe
material.Itistheoppositiontotheflowofheatenergy.

How Do I Calculate the R Factor of Insulation?

ThereareafewformulastocalculatetheRfactorofinsulation,dependingonifyourKfactorandCfactorareknown.
Iftheyareunknown,youcanusethisformula:
hftF/Btu
or
degreesFtimessquarefeetofareatimeshoursoftimeperBtusofheatflow
IfyourKfactorandCfactorareknown,youcanusetheseformulaswhichmaybeeasiertouse:
R-factor=1/C-factor

or
R-factor=thicknessininches/K-factor
Keepinmindthatthesefactorsarespecifictothematerialsbeingmeasured.Forinstance,ifyoutaketwopiecesof
battingthatareratedatR11andputthemtogether,youwontgetR22coverage.Understandingtheinsandoutsof
thefactorsthathelpdescribehoweffectiveinsulationmaterialiswillgoalongwaytohelpingmakethebuying
processeasier.

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About Thermaxx Jackets

ThermaxxJacketswasfoundedover25yearsagowithasinglepurpose:tosaveenergywhentraditionalstay-in-placeinsulationis
notpractical.Combiningexpertiseinheatloss,wirelessmonitoring,insulationdesign,andseveralotherdisciplines,wevebecome
the#1providerofremovableinsulationjacketsandcovers.
ViewallpostsbyThermaxxJackets

ThisentrywaspostedinRecentNews&Updates.Bookmarkthepermalink.

8 Responses to Insulation Ratings: R Factor, K Factor & C Factor

syedmohabatali says:
August17,2013at2:42am

ineedtoknowthekfactorofourcoolingtunnel,wehaveambientof26degcandweneedtempinsidetunnel6degc,what
shouldbethekfactorandwhatshouldbethedencityofpufoam?
Reply

Willjones says:
August22,2013at3:05pm

HiSyed,
Itseemsyouareaskingaboutatunnelratherthanapipeorvalve.Isthatcorrect?
Reply

Heather says:
November8,2013at2:19am

InsulationRatings:CalculatingRFactor,KFactor
&CFactorendedupbeinggenuinelycompellingand
insightful!Withinthepresentdaysocietythatstrickytodeliver.
Thx,Earlene
Reply

LuisM.Rivera says:
April9,2014at1:59pm

Hi,
Iboughtafreezerwith100%rigidUrethaneinsulation.Itwaspoured-in-placewithdensityof2.2Lbs/cuft,K=0.125,U=0.025,
R=40.Thisinsulationgotwetwith1gallonofwaterina8ftx4ftpanel.SinceUrethaneisahygroscopicmaterial,doesthis
materialwiththesespecificationsabsorblargeamountorsmallamountofwater?
Reply

ToddCook says:
April14,2014at11:47am

Curedpolyurethanefoamabsorbsverylittlewater,andthefoamstructureshouldbeclosedcell,sothatwatercannot
infiltratethroughtheinsulationeither.Iwouldexpectthewatertomakeverylittledifferenceintheperformanceofthe
insulation.
Reply

Pingback:Insulationmaterialforheatandsound|beingdazzler.com

CGBaker says:
May18,2015at5:52pm

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Have2fiberglasswraparoundduct..
1soundlinerinotherducts..
Question,whatistheKfactordifferencebetweenthesetwoinsulations
Reply

WillJones says:
May19,2015at6:14pm

TheunitsforKareBtu-in/hr-ft-F(HowmanyBTUswillpassthrougha1thickpiece,12x12squareinonehourper
degreeoftemperaturedifferential.InordertocompareKfactorswemustlookateachdifferenttypeofmaterialatthe
sametemperature.MostdataIveseenuses75Fforthetemperatureconstant.
Ductwrap:0.3Btu-in/hr-ft-F
GyprocSoundbloc:0.35Btu-in/hr-ft-F
JohnMansfieldEquipmentSpinglass:0.23Btu-in/hr-ft-F
OwensCorning700seriessoundboard:0.24Btu-in/hr-ft-F
ThelowertheKfactorthebetterthethermalinsulatingpropertiesofthematerial.
Reply

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