How to use aluminium foil on walls for heat insulation

Is it a good idea to use aluminium foil on walls?

Aluminium foil is a versatile and inexpensive material.

Since it is used a lot to wrap or cover food to keep it cool or warm, due to its thermal insulation properties, many people might think that it could be a good idea to also use it to insulate a wall.

What I mean is to use plain aluminium foil only, and not any of the aluminium-based materials that also include other materials and can be used for insulation purposes, as you can see in the videos below:

Although the solutions that are presented in these videos, which are based on the use of a combination of aluminium and bubble insulation, can definitely work, plain aluminium foil is much cheaper.

Therefore, the aluminium foil method could work for those who either can’t afford more expensive heat insulation materials, or don’t own the property that they want to insulate, and therefore, aren’t willing to spend much, if any, money on it.

Whether it’s the winter cold or the summer heat that makes it imperative you to think of solutions and products to fight it, when you have a limited budget, this immediate need to protect yourself from environmental conditions has to be satisfied through low-cost products, and aluminium foil could be a solution.

How much aluminium foil do you need to cover your walls?

Based, for example, on a large aluminium foil package that you can buy from a supermarket, which it is 30 centimeters wide by 50 meters long, you could cover an area of: 50x0.30=15 square meters (about 160 square feet) of wall.

If you cover your wall up to 2 meters high, then the total length/perimeter of the wall area that you could cover would be: 15/2=7.5 meters (about 25 feet).

In order to cover, for example, the walls of a large room (or two rooms) with a total area of 40 square meters (about 430 square feet), you would need about 6 aluminium foil packages like that.

Actually, you would probably need less than 6 packages, taking into account any windows and doors, which would not be covered with aluminium, unless you are going to cover a room that doesn’t have any windows.

By buying a large package, you can save more money than by buying a smaller one, and so it would cost you even less to insulate your walls.

How much does it cost to cover your walls with aluminium foil?

According to the above calculations, and assuming that you use 6 packages, it would cost you less than 20 euro, or the equivalent amount in dollars, pounds, or other local currency, depending on what country you live in, and not taking into account any differences in the price of aluminium that may apply to different countries, because of local market prices.

Another minor cost that should be added is the cost of buying a clear self-adhesive tape to stick the aluminium foils on the wall and with each other, and that’s it.

OK, you’ve covered your walls, but does it really work?

Unless you live in a community that embraces innovation and looks for frugal ways to save money and energy, chances are that people around you will find it difficult to believe that such a simple and cheap solution can be used to insulate a room efficiently.

Most people believe that you have to pay a lot of money to achieve a good insulation result.

Therefore, if you tell them your idea of using aluminium foil to insulate your walls, they will probably look at you in disbelief, or even laugh at you.

On the funny side of things, there are cases of people who have used aluminium to cover the walls of a room or even a house, as a joke, or to take “revenge” on someone.

From a purely practical point of view, however, the aluminium foil trick seems to be able to do the job.

Although it could not be compared with an expensive solution, in terms of the insulation result, the massive difference cost would definitely justify its characterization as very good “value for money”.

After all, what you really want in the winter, for example, is to keep heat inside and cold outside, and this is exactly what aluminium foil does, by reflecting the heat that falls on it.

So, if you have a source of heat inside the room that you have covered with aluminium foil, the heat that is produced by that appliance stays in the room, since it is reflected back into the room by the foil. Why pay for more expensive products, when such a simple and cost-effective solution can do the same job?

Aesthetic factors to consider

Would it look nice to live in an aluminium-covered house, or work in an office covered with aluminium foil all over?

I believe that the majority of people would not like it, and as I said above, people have even used it to make fun of others.

I mean, can you imagine yourself entering a lawyer’s office, the walls of which, are covered with plain aluminium foil?

However, if you are a freelancer who doesn’t have any physical contact with your customers or people that you work and interact with, because you work, for example online, the decoration of your workplace would not matter.

For instance, writers would be just fine with a small room, where they could concentrate far from any noise and distraction.

If such a room is not well insulated, however, it would be like working in a fridge.

Since it takes time to make a living from writing, those creators would probably not afford to pay for expensive insulation materials.

Therefore, using aluminium foil on walls would be a great solution, provided that they don’t mind to be surrounded by walls covered in metal.

Other things to consider when covering your walls with aluminium

One thing to consider would be that a room does not only have walls; it also has a ceiling and a floor, and they need to be insulated, as well.

So, just by covering your walls with aluminium you will achieve to warm up a room, although you will not eliminate heat losses completely, unless you use, for example, carpets on the floor and find a way to insulate your ceiling.

If your windows and doors are not well insulated, this will also reduce the effectiveness of the aluminium foil method.

How to make your walls look better with aluminium

If you are a bit of an artist, and you like making simple drawings, then aluminium is a material that you can easily use to decorate your walls.

In this way, you can avoid having a wall with a boring metallic look, and you can literally turn it into a work of art, that you wouldn’t be ashamed of showing to people.

In fact, you could even end up being proud of your artistic work, and enjoying the heat insulation benefit, at the same, that is killing two birds with one stone.

Alternative methods to insulate your walls

Although aluminium could really make your walls stand out, you could use shiny wallpaper, which has similar heat insulation properties to aluminium foil, due to the sheer fact that is shiny, too, and can reflect heat.

However, it can’t beat aluminium foil, when it comes to price.

Sources and further reading:

What are the advantages of insulation aluminum?

Average prices for aluminium from 2014 to 2025

Who says students have too much time on their hands? Pranksters spend days wrapping entire contents of housemate’s room in tin foil while he was away

Can I put tin foil on walls to help insulate a room?

Is Aluminium Foil a Good Insulator? Why It Works EXPLAINED