Hi Candler....I've used the foil bubble wrap on a commercial job for the first time recently (48" wide)....I was very impressed with it....I used a fiber style foil tape to seal all seams and I like it much better than the old fiberglass days of wrapping duct.

Gene, I first started seeing this "Bubble Wrap" type insulation about 10 years ago. I believe it was developed for infloor heating, but since then is being used for different types of uses. There are several types of this material including one layer of bubble wrap, two layers of bubble wrap and three layers of bubble wrap. Air is a very good insulator and in fiberglass insulation it's not the fiberglass, but the air that is the insulator. Whenever you have a question about "Can I use this product?" You should always first check with your local Inspections department. Proper use of a product is sometimes determined by how it burns. Ratings can include UL classification for polyethylene, class A rating and NFPA-90A "Flame Spread Index" (

univerity of oregon just did a study on this type of insulation and found it to be very poor. they said manufactures are way over rating it. you do get some reflective insulation qualities but the bubble wrap is only giving 1 layer of air thus giving poor insulationg qualities
i wish i could find the study but cannot, i read about around a month ago

I installed this product last year to moderate the heat and cooling in my basement woodshop that had a main house duct running through it. While it made a difference, I was disappointed in the degree of difference. I am going to try a second layer (I had some left over) in one area to see if that is beneficial.

John

Thanks for the helpful information, Folks. I had the insulation guy do all wrapping using the R-9 from Home Depot. I still have the five rolls of the sandwiched stuff. Maybe I'll find another use for them.

I'll pass this along and I'm sorry for even bringing it up. The guy had been in touch with a couple of insulation companies. They said if one has only heat going through the ducts that are exposed between a garage and upstairs to not wrap. If one has both heat and air conditioning going through them to wrap. He said they said the real savings will be in the A/C.

I can understand what they say when it comes to keeping a garage warm that is below living quarters. But, in my case, my garage isn't very tight. I've never been able to get garage doors to close very well even using various types of seals. I have A/C but even if I had not I think in my case it would have still made sense to wrap the pipes.

Again, thanks for your replies.