Insuladd, Thermilate, or Hy-Tech A Scam By Any Other Names Would Smell As Sweet.
Jan 02 '02 (Updated Oct 23 '08)
The Bottom Line The advertised energy savings from the use of these products have never been substantiated by an unbiased test agency. Results published are only from Insuladd's own "sponsored" research.
Update October 2008
Someone purporting to be the CEO of Tech Traders, has written that my review of their product is slanderous and misinformed. He has even stated that I am overlooking the Energy Star rating they prominently display on their website on the same page as this paint additive.
Turning to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA had this to say about this product:
The following Questions and Answers are taken directly from the ENERGY STAR website at:
http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/energystar.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?
Question
Does ceramic paint work as insulation? Can these paints be ENERGY STAR qualified?
Answer
EPA does not recommend paints and coatings be used in place of traditional bulk insulation. We haven’t seen any independent studies which can verify their insulating qualities. (My highlights.)
EPA qualifies paint only as a roof coating in our Roofs program (generally used for the top of a commercial building roof). Roof coatings are NOT insulation. They reflect solar heat off a roof rather than absorbing it keeping the building cooler. Learn more about the ENERGY STAR Roof program.
If a manufacturer uses their status as an ENERGY STAR Roofs Partner to imply that EPA or DOE recommend ceramic paint products and/or considers ceramic paint "insulation" then please report this to us at logomisuse@energystar.gov."
In response to direct contact with EPA, I was informed that they have asked Tech Traders to stop implying that this paint additive product is endorsed by Energy Star or EPA. The Insuladd website implies this product is Energy Star approved because they have a roofing product that is approved by Energy Star, making them an Energy Star partner. However, their partner status does not include this paint additive.
Despite several emails back and forth between us, they have yet to respond to EPA's comments, or the unbiased report by Washington University which supports my review of the product's effectiveness or lack thereof.
<B> Insuladd's Competition</B>
Hy-Tech joins the ranks of Insuladd and Thermilate as another manufacturer of products designed to scam the public. On a recent visit to their website I found them promoting their similar dust like paint additive with bold headlines promising, "documented savings of up to 30% or more." Intrigued I followed the link and found no such documentation. Only so-called letters of endorsement from supposed happy customers. If a company can not prove the promised energy savings they should be taken to task by the U.S. Bureau of Consumer Protection.
JANUARY 2008
While this virtually useless product continues to be sold to unsuspecting nations around the world, as far away as China, it is satisfying to note a couple of things, since 2002 their advertisements now state, "Proven energy savings of 20% plus " That is, half of their advertised, "up to 40% savings in heating and cooling costs". (From advertisements on Epinions in 2002 and on their own websites.)
Why was there a sudden down playing of promised energy savings in their advertising from up to 40% in energy savings to only 20% plus? In part, it may have been because of my review, which challenged them directly and went so far as to call their product, "A SCAM". They replied with nasty emails and sarcastic comments, however, they have never responded to my challenge to prove their energy saving claims. Why do they grow silent, when I ask why they don't just prove their ridiculous energy saving claims?
I can further challenge them to prove, through unbiased third party testing, that their product is even capable of saving a typical home owner up to 5% on their heating and cooling energy costs. That is 1/8th of their original claims of up to 40% and only a quarter of their present 20% plus claims. In truth, I sincerely doubt their product can even come close to 1% in energy savings on heating and cooling costs.
Typical of the hocus pocus scientific jibberish they employ to sell their virtually useless products, their website offers this explanation;
INSULADD® products help to reduce solar induced radiant heat gain through the roofs and walls of buildings during summer months.
Applying Insuladd® to walls, ceilings, or roofs will reduce the running times of air-conditioning units, refrigerators and freezers because the heat entering a building is dramatically reduced.
While INSULADD® products are a valuable tool in helping to block the summer heat, they also help to reduce heat loss from buildings during winter months. Insuladd® used with interior paint on inside walls helps keep heat in your building by acting as a radiant barrier. It keeps the heat trapped inside during the coldest months of the year, preventing it from escaping to the colder air outside. Insuladd® will help keep your office or home the most comfortable it can be, winter or summer, year after year.
Now, I may sound like I'm from Missouri, but aren't these people suggesting that their product is capable of blocking solar heat from entering your home in the summer? Which means, (if it worked) it would block solar heat from entering in the winter too, which means your furnace will have to work harder to heat your home, consuming more fuel in the winter.
They go on to claim that by coating your walls and ceiling in this ceramic dust and paint, you will block the heat from escaping. They fail to note that the greatest source of heat loss from a home is not through already insulated walls and ceilings, but through doors that open and close as people come and go, through glass windows, around loose fitting doors, from exhausting products like the fireplace chimney, furnace and/or water heater flue pipes, bathroom fans, range hoods and dryer vents. Any HVAC engineer in the country would agree that, by merely painting your (already well insulated) walls with this gunk, the reductions in heat loss would be zero to almost zero.
Tech Traders (the listed manufacturer and supplier to Europe, the middle east, Africa and more recently to China) have been indignant and outraged by my review, but they refuse to try to verify their claims through a third party. That should say it all, they are afraid to have an unbiased test agency test it's efficiency and expose their scam.
In May 2007 a truly unbiased report was published on this product that very effectively supports everything I wrote above, in 2002 and refutes any such potential energy savings.
It may be viewed at:
http://www.energyideas.org/documents/Factsheets/PTR/Insuladd.pdf
This independent report is sponsored by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the report was prepared by the Washington State University, who note that previous reports on this product were sponsored by Insuladd themselves.
Insuladd have countered that they even have the support of Bob Vila. Bob Vila actually sells space on his website and television shows as a source of revenue. An endorsement by someone who is being paid is hardly unbiased proof of credibility.
The facts speak for themselves, and I would continue to caution anyone foolish enough to purchase this product to also use a good quality face mask when pouring and mixing "microscopic" ceramic fiber particles. Airborne ceramic fiber particles have been studied by the University of Cincinnati and they concluded that consumers should treat these materials with care.
Incidentally, this same product is being sold in the U.K. and the middle east under the brand name Thermilate and they appear to have even different sets of energy efficiency claims. No surprise, they claim even higher energy savings from these little packets of ceramic dust.
MY REVIEW FROM 2002 RESUMES HERE
This review began when I saw an advertisement from INSULADD, and I saw the magic words that many scam artists use when fishing for uninformed consumers and I couldn't resist following them to Insuladd's home page. Here's their hook, in case you've missed it.
"Reduce your heating & cooling costs up to 40%!" (2002 Advertisment)
Insulating house paints can save you hundreds in your utility bills. Insuladd is easy to use and easy to order! Reduce your utility bills quickly ,easily, forever!
http://www.insuladd.com/
What person, in their right mind, wouldn't want to save "up to" 40% on their utility bills? I probably passed this advertisement a hundred times in my travels on Epinions and never gave it a second thought. I just automatically thought, "Cow Dung" and moved along. The other day, the words, "UP TO" registered and I decided to have a look at their product out of a sick sense of curiosity.
It seems they sell bottles of ceramic fiber, in microscopic dust form to mix with house paints. A one quart bottle of dust per gallon of "your favorite house paint". Then by spreading this stuff all over the outside of your home, they claim, you will increase the insulation value of your home and save big on heating and cooling costs. Hence the imaginative name for their product, Insuladd. They are literally suggesting by the name that this product is adding a significant insulation factor to the walls of your home, simply by painting a thin layer of it to the outside or inside of the house.
I had to read through their technical data, test reports that support their claims and testimonials, before I could pass my judgement on their product. COW DUNG, would make a better insulation than Insuladd.
Their technical reports cite U.S. military tests. Using Insuladd on a rocket launcher and testing one with the product and one without. It seems, the one with Insuladd applied kept the cab temperature 6.1 degrees F cooler in a test chamber with heat lamps radiating down on it and in another test a whopping 2.8 degrees F cooler.
" 5. At every location monitored the cab painted with Insuladd had lower temperatures during the test. On the first day temperatures in the cab peaked at 131.7 F in the launcher with the paint additive and 137.8 F for the other launcher. On the second day the cab temperature peaked at 97.7 F and 100.5 F. End of Report"
Now, I may be no rocket scientist, but, I had to wonder how this test data related to home heating and cooling. Are there a lot of families out there trying to keep their rocket launchers cooler in the summer? How does a 2 to 4% temperature differential between two rocket launchers equate to "UP TO" a 40% reduction in your home utility bills?
The short answer is, it doesn't. Those two little words in their ad are their protection against class action suits from those who smear this stuff all over their homes and then see no real benefits from it. They can always say, we said "UP TO" we didn't say a 40% reduction was guaranteed. So, "UP TO" may be from 1% to "UP TO" 40% although the latter is extremely hard to imagine. In fact, I would venture to say, they have never seen such dramatic results, in any home heating and cooling application.
There are a couple of other examples of tests done in their area, in the state of Florida, which would tend to support that the ceramic dust, will deflect some of the radiant heat on a hot sunny day, which may, in turn reduce the heat gain to the home. So in theory, the cooling system should not need to work as hard. However, a bit of ceramic dust in your paint is not going to represent a major insulation factor on a cloudy day. This product, if it is useful at all, is only going to marginally deflect the heat from those sides of the home that are in direct view of the sun. Inside walls treated with this stuff, would have no impact on the energy consumption and it would represent virtually zero "added insulation".
Heat losses through windows, around doors and through the roof are going to remain the same, unless you want to paint your windows and shingles with this stuff? Under heating season conditions, this material may even work against the heating system, by reducing heat gain through the walls and forcing the central heating system to work harder. In some parts of the country, that could offset the savings on electric cooling bills with increased heating fuel bills.
About twenty years ago a company came out with two little magnets and a mounting bracket. Their ads claimed that homeowners who invested in their product could save "UP TO" 40% on the fuel bills by simply strapping their magnets onto the fuel line to their furnace. The cost was only $29.95 and you could install it yourself. Why do they claim "UP TO 40%"? First, they're banking on your greed for fuel savings and your gullibility. Second, they're betting you won't know the difference after a year or two of trying their product and third, you won't come after them for your $29.95 back.
The company explained that the magnetic current passing through the fuel, straightened out the carbon molecules and reduced friction for improved combustion efficiency. They further claimed the magnets would work equally well on cars, trucks, furnaces running on any type of fuel, including natural gas. COW DUNG!
Some people actually told me it worked! Until I explained that the overall temperatures for the previous years had been colder and their fuel savings were a result of a warmer winter. Regional temperatures are measured around the world by what is known as degree days, which are recorded each year and averaged out. The degree days for any given year are available from your local utility or from home heating oil companies. By comparing your fuel consumption for previous years against recorded degree days, you can come up with a fairly accurate picture of your actual fuel costs.
The magnet people disappeared for a while, only to reappear a few years later with the same product in a different package. Intended now for humidifiers and water coolers. Now, they claimed the magnetic current would reduce the calcium in water by "UP TO" 40%. I have no idea how many consumers still have those useless magnets hanging off of their fuel lines, water pipes and their humidifiers. I'll bet they wouldn't admit to it anyway.
Another sweetheart of the 1980's was the "Thermiser" and again the company's advertisements screamed, "SAVE UP TO 40% ON YOUR FUEL BILLS". For the low, low price of $350.00 (average) you would receive a stainless steel box with flue collars on either end and a baffle plate that restricted the flow of flue gas to the chimney. The baffle was sized to reduce your flue pipe by 1". They were tested by UL, the American and Canadian Gas Associations (AGA/CGA) and found not to be a danger if installed properly. No tests were done to verify the company's fuel saving claims. I conducted a test myself on a typical gas furnace. The result? COW DUNG. Absolutely no effect on the steady state efficiency and an almost immeasurable reduction on off-cycle heat loss from the furnace. (Less than one percent) Yet thousands were sold and I presume many still hang uselessly on chimney pipes around North America.
Imagine the benefits to the world energy crisis and the environment if all of these advertisements were honest and the energy savings were real. With Insuladd mixed in with your house paint, a thermiser on your chimney, and magnets strapped onto your fuel lines. You could save, "up to 120%" on your fuel bills! Which as we all know is impossible without generating free fuel in the process.
Insuladd with their "space age" dust falls into the same category for those who expect any real energy savings on their heating and cooling bills. However at only $12.95 per quart bottle of dust, can you afford not to buy a dozen bottles and coat your house in it?
I even have my doubts on their claim that it's non-toxic and safe as, microscopic ceramic fiber dust has come under a lot of medical scrutiny over the past few years and has been linked to lung disorders very much like asbestos. The University of Cincinnati has cautioned the heating industry about the handling of ceramic fiber logs that have been broken or worn and may produce fibers that can be inhaled. I somehow doubt that it's a good idea to be pouring it from a foil bag into your paint and stirring it up. (Their own website refers to it as microscopic ceramic particles and shows contractors whipping it into a bucket of paint without a respirator.)
If you're the kind of person who is still willing to buy some, of Insuladd's or Thermilate's ceramic dust even after after reading this, please write to me. I have some "magic coffee beans" that will produce "UP TO" 40% more coffee per cup of boiling water. I'm willing to let them go for only $19.95 a pound. This is a time limited offer, while supplies last. This product has been tested and verified by my unbiased brother, who is also the vice president of the Magic Coffee Bean Company.
Regards,
Gasman
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Still venting after all these years.
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