The application of Liquid Foam Insulation (LFI) is currently viable and commercially available in limited application with limited levels of insulation available. Subsoil heat storage systems such as the SHCS have been shown by this and previous studies to be economically viable in terms of their energy saving performance, and more viable than thermal mass […]

The combination of LFI and SHCS produced results that fit some common definitions of passive solar greenhouses. Solar greenhouses can maintain nightly low temperatures above freezing (or higher) without supplemental heat in winter when an ordinary greenhouse would freeze without heat (Barnhart, 2007; Yanda & Fisher, 1980). Although testing for these combined systems was not […]

SHCS, when used with LFI, resulted in a more rapid and sustained elevation of soil temperatures. This is because the SHCS without LFI cooled the soil at night more as it was releasing heat to the greenhouse. For the same sunny period with some freezing nights, the cumulative nighttime temperature drop was 3.79 °C for […]

LFI and SHCS together kept the greenhouse warmer than SHCS alone during the same period, and warmer than LFI alone for the same ambient lows during a different period. The increase in temperature differences in the LFI/SHCS greenhouse over SHCS or LFI alone grew for nights with lower ambient lows. During the entire period, the […]

LFI and SHCS, together, achieved results comparable to those achieved by traditional solar greenhouses. Though no exact definition of solar greenhouse performance is agreed upon, the combination of a high level of heat storage and the selective use of high levels of insulation that characterize solar greenhouses have been shown to be features of SHCS […]

Liquid foam insulation is a long-known technique (Cunningham, 1984), but it has only been commercialized recently through significant, multi-million dollar investment (Sunarc of Canada, 2008). There is no evidence that LFI will be distributed or adopted in a grassroots fashion, despite the efforts of some (Elliot, 2007). Based on the experience gained through conducting this […]

The public record regarding liquid foam insulation is not sufficient for best practices to be identified here. However, Sunarc of Canada Inc. has almost certainly identified many of the critical best practices in its private product development process. Its patents do not discuss what factors increase the insulation value of foam other than claiming that […]

Discussion of Inconclusive Evidence and Further Research During the day a 0.6 m foam-filled cavity drastically reduced light levels, but the deep shade subsided quickly, in around one hour. In order for foam to be an effective shade agent it needs to create the desired levels of shading and maintain them for a sufficient length […]