The following chart depicts the relative performance difference of common insulated packaging materials.
The attachement clearly illustrates the difference between which materials merely protect a product from heat spikes, and the duration of those that can maintain a specified temperature range
The packages were of the same relative cubic size/volume.
Each package contained one bottle of 500 ml of water conditioned at 4 degrees C, wrapped in a thin layer of bubble wrap and probed with a thermocouple connected to a data logger.
Each package contained one identical 32 ounce (frozen) gel pack placed on top of the 500 ml bottle.
Once assembled, each package was exposed to a constant 30 degreesC (86 degrees F) for 48 hours.
For a detailed performance graph, click on the attachement icon below.
|
Container |
Insulation |
k factor |
Wall Thickness |
R Value |
Hours < 10 C |
Hours < 20 C |
|
Corrugate |
|
|
C Flute |
|
2.5 |
17 |
|
Fabric tote |
Thinsulate Microfiber |
0.25 |
3/4" |
3 |
8 |
23 |
|
Molded, Hard Sided |
Rigid PUR "Igloo cooler" |
0.14 |
1/2" |
3.5 |
3 |
24 |
|
Bubble in corrugate |
foil/bubble double layer |
0.19 |
5/8" |
3.3 |
6 |
27 |
|
EPS |
Expanded Polystyrene |
0.25 |
1.0" |
4 |
10.4 |
25.9 |
|
EPS |
Expanded Polystyrene |
0.25 |
1.5" |
6 |
11.3 |
28.1 |
|
EPS |
Expanded Polystyrene |
0.25 |
2.0" |
8 |
12 |
30 |
|
PUR |
Polyurethane |
0.15 |
2.0" |
13.3 |
26 |
48 |
|
Vacuum |
Vacuum panel(Nanotherm) |
0.029 |
1.0" |
35 |
32 |
80.3 |
|
Vacuum |
Vacuum panel with 1" EPS |
0.04 |
2.0" |
50 |
54 |
80 |
Attachments: