ZircoFlex GOLD VS Gold Reflective Heat Tape

Before we get into the details of their differences, it’s important to address the basics of heat transfer.

There are 3 mechanisms that thermal energy is transferred: conduction, convection or radiation. The two mechanisms that are important for this particular topic are conduction and radiation. Conduction heat transfer is via molecular collisions and diffusion increasing the temperature of a lower temperature region. Radiation heat transfer is where infrared radiation (electromagnetic waves) are emitted from a region of high temperature to a region of lower temperature.

Comparing Apples to Oranges

Stepping forward to the Gold Reflective Heat Tape – we found that the ‘cheaper’ options of the gold tape is usually made out of a composite consisting of a polymer-based resin with a glass fibre matrix. Whereas in comparison, our ZircoFlex® FOIL product is an aluminium backed foil with our proprietary thermal barrier ceramic coating technology applied onto it. Therefore the ‘gold reflective heat tape’ found on the market cannot be compared directly our ZircoFlex® offset ceramic heat shields. Our technology not only provides heat reflectivity in reducing heat transfer via radiation, but also through thermal conductivity.