Winterizing my dorm

[Anonymous No.326790]

I was thinking of taping a mylar blanket (pic related) into a piece of styrofoam and place at the back of my heater, basically reflecting back the heat back to me as opposed to going to the opposite side kinda like the principle at work at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvKLOMgtM1Q

will it work? how can I make my dorm warmer?

[Anonymous No.326791]

>>326790
It will help. You can use aluminum foil glued to cardboard too. Use half and half mixture of wood glue with water as the glue. The Styrofoam shouldn't be needed, but won't help. Just make sure nothing gets too hot as to burst into flames.

If you have a window, buy some of that clear window plastic to put over it. The kind that you tape up and then use a hair drier on is really great stuff at preventing drafts.

[Anonymous No.326793]

>>326791

What I did for the windows is I put 2 layers of black felt in it. I saw a paper on the University of Oregon about it.

The reason why styrofoam is so that no heat would escape

as for the glue, I might as well use some tape (heh) couldnt see why not.

I should note that the building I am in is really fucking old, so insulation is shit

[Anonymous No.326794]

>>326791
Also I heard that aluminum foil does not really have the same effect the mylar sheet has, idk tho

[Anonymous No.326801]

>>326794
That sounds pretty anecdotal to me. I think it really depends on how shiny the two materials are and how long you'll be using this. The foil will be cheaper though.

[Anonymous No.326822]

>>326801

meh not cheaper, about the same I guess

I am also wondering if the same principle will be valid for an electric heater as it is to actual fire like in that video

[Anonymous No.326823]

>>326822
The foil won't melt and burn at least.

It is valid for any heat source. Light isn't all it reflects.

[Anonymous No.326850]

>>326823

but I dont know if the foil will conduct/preserve heat as much as the mylar sheet will

i also dont wanna lose heat through convection (idk if this is a proper term) that is why I wanna set it behind a styrofoam sheet

[Anonymous No.326857]

>>326850
Personally, I'd attached the reflective material to cardboard then if I needed foam I'd attach it to that. I would not attach the reflective material directly to the foam.

I know that the foil will better spread the heat out and prevent hot spots, should any occur.

[Anonymous No.326981]

>>326790
>heater
is it a space heater or does it glow red hot? If not, heat transfer by radiation is going to be minimal and there is little point to using shiny stuff to "reflect the heat."

[Anonymous No.326990]

>>326981
What you can't see with your eyes is reflected. That is how IR works.

[idahoon !!COM34iV6/TE No.327013]

If you're worried that the foil will conduct heat away, back it with something insulative.

[Anonymous No.327019]

>>326990
Generally, radiative heat transfer is negligible in the atmosphere compared to convection unless something is glowing red hot.

Now I'm going to hazard a guess that OP's heater is going to emit air at a max temperature of 60 celsius(assuming it is a convection heater), compared to the 1000 celsius fire in OP's video, heat transfer by radiation's gonna be approximately nothing.

[idahoon !!COM34iV6/TE No.327021]

>>327019
I was assuming it was one of those heaters with visible red hot elements, the old dangerous kind.
If it's not, you're absolutely right.

[Anonymous No.327104]

like dis

[Anonymous No.327121]

>>327019
There's a distinct reason an emergency blanket is highly reflective mylar.

[Anonymous No.327165]

When I insulated my house I used mylar sheeting I bought in 40mx1m rolls. Did an excellent job, I double overlapped it to be sure but for the space it takes up and the cheap cost (picked mine up from a scrap yard for free) then it's definitely worth it.

When working in WA's Pilbara region, a lot of guys line their cars windows with aluminum foil to reflect heat from windows they never roll down - like the back/side windows in vans and troop carriers for instance.
People up here also use them on windows on their rooms/houses

To apply use a water-sprayer with a tiny amount of detergent in it (well mixed) and spray on the window in question.
Spray evenly. No pools of bubbles.
While still damp apply al-foil to window and let it stick.
It will hold onto the window easily and is 100% removable as required.

Good luck bro.

[Anonymous No.327185]

>>327121
An emergency blanket is highly reflective mylar NOT TO REFLECT heat, but to lower one's EMISSIVITY so one EMITS less heat and lower convective losses due to air movement. High reflectivitiy= low emissivity.

Space blankets are often in contact with one's skin, so heat transfer by radiation is minimal. But, on a chilly(yet not freezing) cloudless night, radiation losses to 0 kelvin space are non-negligible.

People have actually died of hypothermia on slightly chilly cloudless nights due to radiative loss to the sky.

That being said, mylar space blankets are ok

[Anonymous No.327236]

>>327185
lol No, it reflects heat back to the body and rarely touches the skin. The rest of your post contains info that has nothing to do with the fact shiny surfaces reflect IR.

>0 kelvin space

No such thing. Space is 2.725 Kelvin. GB2/high school/

[Anonymous No.327243]

>>327104
God I fucking lolled.

[Anonymous No.327248]

>>327104

not really more like, the concave side is towards us, and the thingy is in the middle

and no, its not one of those red glowing ones :(

[Anonymous No.327250]

>>327236
at the distances we're talking about convection will dominate

[Anonymous No.328475]

>Have you ever considered that YOU replying back those posts ruined her reputation?
No, because I am not. I argue with these people and explain why they are wrong because it's necessary, no thanks to the bandwagoning nature of the board and their insistence on spreading information that they see common on the board, regardless of its validity