

Aerogel is now cheap enough to produce to be used as housing insulation - ph0rque
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10445362-54.html

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timf
The editorialized HN title "now cheap enough to produce to be used as housing
insulation" looks incorrect. According to the article, this is only priced
where it makes sense in some corner cases (and that is according to the
company itself).

 _"It's still more expensive upfront but the costs have fallen to the point
that it can make sense in certain cases, particularly masonry or curved walls,
according to Aspen Aerogels."_

And regardless, the company is projecting the performance in houses without
long term evidence.

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dmlorenzetti
"The company has done a number of installations... including a housing project
in Rhode Island last year... The payback was just over five years..."

This means, of course, that the _expected_ payback is five years. Who knows
how good the installation job was, and how generous the assumptions made when
estimating the payback period.

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philwelch
And that expected payback was including tax credits.

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DannoHung
What exactly makes aerogels expensive to produce? Is it the materials or is it
the manufacturing process?

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camccann
Mostly manufacturing, I believe. If memory serves me, the process involves
supercritical drying--you put a liquid-based gel into a vessel under very high
temperature and pressure until the gas/liquid states become interchangeable,
then gradually remove the supercritical fluid, tweaking the temperature as
needed, until enough fluid is removed. Once brought back to STP, the gel
structure is left behind in the same form it had with the liquid medium, but
with all the liquid removed.

Mistakes at almost any step in the process will permanently ruin the batch of
gel, of course.

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pudquick
Well, if a 10 year old can make it with the help of his dad:
<http://adzoe.8m.com/Aerogelsa.htm>

... then yes, I would hope it's getting cheaper.

~~~
presidentender
I made a number of "perpetual motion machines" with my dad at that age for
science fair projects; all told, the parts and labor would have run to over a
hundred dollars if they'd been commissioned jobs.

The fact that this kid made aerogels (which is cool!) doesn't mean that just
anyone can make them in quantity easily and cheaply. He produced small pieces
with a lot of labor (and, based on the article, some university charity).
That's not insulation. It's a 5th-grade science project.

