Visit to Bunnings Warehouse

Hello again! Today, I went over to Bunnings Warehouse to check out what types of insulation they have there.

One of the main brands of insulation I saw there was Thermakraft. I also saw a whole variety of different types of insulation, from room insulation, to floor insulation, to polystyrene.

However, all of these materials were sold in huge rolls, and Bunnings Warehouse didn't have any spare small pieces of the materials. This is a problem, as I only need a little bit of each material. So, I am thinking about visiting a few different construction sites. There, I will ask whether they have any spare insulation material that they no longer need.

Which type of insulation is "good'?

Now that I know what how insulation works, I need to know how to distinguish between "good" insulation and "bad" insulation. One of the most simple ways of distinguishing whether an insulation material is "good" or not is by looking at the R-values. All insulation is rated in thermal resistance, called R-value. The R-value indicates the resistance to heat flow, so the higher the R-value, the better.

Another important piece of information that I found out was that not all types of insulation is safe to install by yourself. Some materials might need a professional to install, so when I am choosing the materials, I must remember to read the label carefully.

How does insulation work?

If I am going to conduct an experiment on insulation, one of the first things I need to find out is how insulation works. After doing some research, I now have a pretty good understanding of how insulation actually works.

Heat naturally flows towards cold air. This is why heat always tries to escape your house in winter, making it chilly inside, and why heat always tries to slip into your house in summer, making it hot and stuffy. This is where insulation comes in. Insulation can stop some heat from flowing towards the cold air. This way, you can keep heat inside your house in winter and keep the heat outside in summer.

Experiment ideas

For this experiment, I am planning to test the material's insulation level by filling up a bottle/jar of warm water. Then, I will wrap the material around the bottle/jar. I will then check on the temperature every few minutes.

I am also thinking of repeating this experiment with cold water. This is to test whether the material can keep a house cool in summer.

This is just a brief plan on what I am going to do, as I will be explaining this in more detail in the method.

Welcome to my science fair blog!

Hi everybody! My name is Jennifer and I am a Year 8 student at BBI. I am currently writing this blog about my science fair, which is coming up very soon. I am very excited about this project, and I will record all of my information and findings onto this blog. My project last year was about plants, and how they grew under different colours of light.

This year, I am planning to do an experiment to test which type of insulation is best for a house. This experiment is extremely useful, as winter is approaching fast, and with good insulation, you may end up saving a lot on your electricity bill! Also, when it is hot and stuffy in summer, good insulation will also keep your house cool. So, I will be testing out different materials to find out which is the best insulator.

I will be explaining this in more detail over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for more information!