Does Bubble Wrap Keep Heat Out?

Bubble wrap is a common material found in many homes. It is often used to protect fragile objects from breaking during shipping. But does bubble wrap actually keep heat out? Or does it just trap heat inside, making your home warmer?

In this blog post, we will explore how effective bubble wrap is at insulating your home and keeping the heat out. We will also discuss other insulation options that may be better for your home.

So if you are interested in learning more about insulation, keep reading!

As mentioned, more people are turning to bubble wrap insulation as a way to decrease home heating, power consumption and increase insulation. Understanding the whole process is important, but understanding it might also assist you in learning whether this solution is worth it.

The weather becomes severe during the winter, and our thoughts turn straight to heat conservation and generation. Although bubble wrap isn’t intended to keep heat out, it is often used in keeping parcels and other objects safe.

You can use bubble wrap to keep the temperature inside your house by wrapping your windows with it. It will accomplish this by keeping heat or cold out.

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How Does Bubble Wrap Keep Heat Out?

So, how does bubble wrap keep heat in? The principle behind this is quite simple: the bubble wrap will assist to improve the window’s resistance to heat.

Adding bubble wrap to your windows raises their R-Value, which is the measure of heat resistance. Obviously, the greater its resistance to heat, the less heat that will be lost or gained into a room. This implies that bubble wrap won’t keep out heat on only windows; it can also be used on a variety of other materials.

Based on this, we may figure out how bubble wrap increases the R-value of your windows.

A single window pane has an R-value of 0.8, and a bubble wrap strip has 0.2. For each bubble wrap strip, you add to your windows, you increase the heat resistance, R-Value by 0.2.

This is because it reduces air infiltration and stops insulation from escaping to the outdoors.

But this is just a rough number. You have to keep in mind that the R-value of the bubble wrap itself isn’t 0.8 as advertised. It is more than 0.8, but the total R-value of your windows will not be as high as you might have expected.

Installing the Bubble Wrap

It is a fantastic idea if you want to experiment with it. It will almost certainly help you save money on your heating and cooling all year long.

There’s no need to worry about bubble wrap insulation if you follow the steps outlined below.

Measure your windows

You will need a working knowledge of bubble wrap, which is difficult to come by without knowing the precise measurements you need. You can’t buy go out and buy your bubble wrap before you measure your windows.

Measure the height of each window in inches. Write this number down on a pad of paper.
Measure the width in inches for each window, and write down the number.
Choose your bubble wrap solution – two layers or three layers
Measure the width of your windows. You can buy bubble wrap by the foot, so you will need to know how wide each window is to know how much bubble wrap to buy.
Measure the height of each window in inches. You can buy bubble wrap by the foot, so divide the height of each window by three. Two strips are good for windows that are up to four feet tall, so you need to know whether your windows are this height or shorter.
Buy bubble wrap that is long enough to cover each window once, plus an extra foot on the length of the strip.

See also Is WD40 Flammable?

It’s always better to buy bubble wrap a little bigger than the size of your window, since having extra is preferable to not having enough.

Cut the bubble wrap down to size. Before you can cut it, you need a straight edge to do so. The best thing to use in this situation is a Stanley knife since it can be used to slice through bubble wrap in order to cut it.

Attach the bubble wrap to the window

The best thing about bubble wrap insulation is that it doesn’t require a specific glue or adhesive. You can use insulation tapes, or you can just peel off the backing of the bubble wrap and apply it to your window.

Place the first strip of bubble wrap on the window.
Press it down on the window from top to bottom, and then press it on from side to side .
Place the second strip on top of the first by pressing it down and then diagonally.
This will create a thicker wall of insulation .

Note: You can skip this step for windows that are high up.

If you want to make the bubble wrap a complete wall, place a strip on top of each window and press it down from side to side. However, if your windows are above five feet off the ground, then the extra insulation won’t be as much as you might have wanted.

Check that the whole bubble wrap is secured to the window and no portion of it is left exposed, or risk defeating the purpose of insulation.

The more insulation you have on the window, the better. In general, you will want the bubble wrap to be pushed up against the window in order to stop as much heat from leaking through.

Cut off the excess bubble wrap.

Some people throw away excess bubble wrap, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, it may turn out to be a mistake.

For this section, you’ll need either a knife or scissors, with most individuals opting for the knife since it makes things easier.

Peel back the top flap of the bubble wrap so that half of it is exposed and half is covered by another piece of bubble wrap.
Cut off the portion that is exposed, and press it back into place so that it matches up with all of the other pieces around it .
Repeat with the bubble wrap around the window
Place it back in its original location if necessary, and cut off any excess bubble wrap so that you have an equal number of pieces on both sides of the window.
This will help the bubble wrap stay intact, and keep it in place around the window.