What are vacuum insulation panels (VIPs)?
Insulating a roof terrace with insufficient space
Vacuum insulation panels, or VIPs for short, are a new kind of insulation material used to meet very high thermal requirements in construction. They have an unrivalled core insulation value of no less than 0.006 W/mK, so panels that are barely 60 mm thick give an R value of 7.50 m²K/W. This high performance insulation is achieved by wrapping a solid core of fumed silica in a high-barrier foil envelope which is then evacuated and vacuum sealed. The combination of this specialised core material and the vacuum makes for an enormous improvement in performance compared with traditional forms of insulation. In this regard it is of course essential for the vacuum to be kept intact, so you absolutely must not drill through it.
The best way to make the most of this high insulation value of the panels is to completely encapsulate them before they leave the factory. In this way the risk of damage is limited. Recticel Insulation protects the core with high-density board. This makes it much safer to use the panels in construction work.