Where to find thermal insulating panels for exterior walls

Makinater

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May 4, 2013
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Been looking around for this for some time now, since hormig?n plus direct afternoon sun tends to transform our bedrooms into ovens. Air con would solve the problem, and we will install it during the end of this winter. But before the mechanical system is introduced, we want to improve the passive cooling design. Basically, what I am looking for are something like this.

Thankful for any answers ...
 

Empiric

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Apr 24, 2013
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Dont know where you can buy panels but,

regarding passive cooling

"According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. According to the USDA Forest Service, trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent"

Re-Tree Western New York
 

Empiric

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Apr 24, 2013
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Think of cooling the roof

1- drip irrigantion [circulated water]

2- cover the whole roof with plants

3- build a roof on top of the roof, LOL, designed just to provide shade and rest/play area.

4- all of the above
 

ctrob

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Nov 9, 2006
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Maybe not designated threads, but I think there has been some discussions about where to buy "Styrofoam, blue board". I think it's somewhere in the http://www.dr1.com/forums/living/127496-affordable-housing-construction-15.html thread.


You didn't mention if you were doing interior or ext. I would do exterior (assuming the house is masonry). About the same amount of work - same sq footage and with either you have to apply a finished surface. But ext. much better for cooling as you are using that mass of interior concrete on the inside as a "cooling sink".

As you pay to cool the interior, the walls are also cooled and that mass of concrete retains it's coolness longer then just cooling the inside air.

The other suggestions of trees and shade are also big factors. Light exterior colors for reflective properties - roof especially.
Good luck
 

bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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Where are you located? Have you tried IKEA? You can always order from Amazon and have them shipped. Make sure to read the reviews as some so called "room darkening curtains" do very little to darken the room.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
Have you painted the outside walls "Bright White"???
There is a "Silver" roofing "Paint like substance" that reflects sun light, I used thet.
Plant "Laurel Trees".
They grow VERY Fast!
Just be aware, they have a LOT of roots, many on/near the ground's surface.
They can, and will, "push Up" anything within 2 meters.
When I bought my house 16 years ago,I planed TREES!
They also act as a windbreak during storms, even hurricanes!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

Empiric

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Apr 24, 2013
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house building code in DR should include minimum requirements for home insulation [R-value], heat can kill.
 

ctrob

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Nov 9, 2006
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house building code in DR should include minimum requirements for home insulation [R-value], heat can kill.

That would be somewhere after "Don't stand in a puddle when splicing into your neighbors 220 line"
 

donluis99

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Jul 12, 2004
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I went through the whole project just like you are when we added to the casa, but Looking for EPS sheet products here, forget it, I looked into importing a a partial container, etc., I gave up, built it out conventional, high ceiling, clay tile roofing, big ceiling fans 7.53 Kwp of solar panels, we are good, electric bill is consistently RD$37.95, what they are charging for I do not know.

These folks can prepare Styrofoam panels any size you wish with wire pre-installed for the stucco

Multiblox
Calle An?bal de Espinosa #301,
Villas Agr?colas
Santo Domingo, DN,
Apartado Postal 10410
Dominican Republic
T 809 732 7659

Also, Available here is sprayed on Polyurethane, great for roofs, can do walls too any thickness you want...if you want suppliers for this, I can get mu hands on it a little later back int he office.

meanwhile

g'luck
 

Makinater

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May 4, 2013
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I went through the whole project just like you are when we added to the casa, but Looking for EPS sheet products here, forget it, I looked into importing a a partial container, etc., I gave up, built it out conventional, high ceiling, clay tile roofing, big ceiling fans 7.53 Kwp of solar panels, we are good, electric bill is consistently RD$37.95, what they are charging for I do not know.

These folks can prepare Styrofoam panels any size you wish with wire pre-installed for the stucco

Multiblox
Calle An?bal de Espinosa #301,
Villas Agr?colas
Santo Domingo, DN,
Apartado Postal 10410
Dominican Republic
T 809 732 7659

Also, Available here is sprayed on Polyurethane, great for roofs, can do walls too any thickness you want...if you want suppliers for this, I can get mu hands on it a little later back int he office.

meanwhile

g'luck

Thanks a lot for that answer! Just made my day ... Will give them a call to see what they can do about the outside of our exterior walls. If suppliers are needed after that, I will PM you. Thanks once more! Too bad that many industrial product of this kind isn't available (or not easy to find) in this country. But since halfway solutions dominate every aspect of construction, I don't find it too surprising.

As for all the other tips - they are in every aspect sensible. If i weren't living in an apartment, I would plant trees in my garden and I would need to cool the roof as well. But roof is covered by two apartments above us and trees can't be planted to cover my walls, unfortunately. Parking lots and roads in the way. Would love to plant there anyway, but I suspect it would somehow disturb the neighborhood peace. Will update when I know how this remodeling thing is going.

And regarding the room darkening curtains, I will try to find decent ones as well. But we are also looking for double or triple glaze windows for a better R-value. Located in SD by the way, since someone asked. Opens up more possibilities, but it's still a jungle to navigate and most businesses don't know what a website is (let alone what the reasons are to have one). And we still haven't found any SD-based windows companies that are offering anything else than the slide model which is just ---- to be honest. If you anyone got an idea, let me hear. Meanwhile, we will keep looking.
 

Makinater

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May 4, 2013
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That would be somewhere after "Don't stand in a puddle when splicing into your neighbors 220 line"

OMG. Almost died of laughter there. Yeah, that is definitely a good building code. Just as "dun't run red lights" is a good traffic rule. Problem with rules here seems to be that they are more or less voluntarily to follow.