Why I Threw Out Rockwool & PIR in 2025: Real 3-10mm Aerogel Blanket Data from 12 Live Passive House Projects

I’m sick of explaining to architects that “aerogel blanket is not VIP and definitely not rockwool”.

Out of the 12 Passivhaus/EnerPHit/Green-Star-3 projects I’m running right now in Australia and China, 9 have completely ripped out the originally specified rockwool, PIR or XPS and switched to 3-10mm hydrophobic aerogel blanket (λ=0.018–0.020 W/m·K, A1/A2 fire rating).

Not because I sell it – because nothing else works.

Real numbers from my own sites (you’re welcome to visit any of them):

Fitzroy, Melbourne – 1890s double-brick terrace (EnerPHit certified Jan 2025) External 10mm aerogel blanket + 50mm ventilated rainscreen Final wall U-value 0.30 W/m²·K (including all bridges) Added thickness only 58mm

Mosman, Sydney – coastal LSF house Original spec 120mm rockwool → replaced with 10mm aerogel blanket fully wrapped Steel stud penalty dropped from 0.38 → 0.07 W/m²·K Owner’s heating bill cut 68% last winter

Lujiazui, Shanghai – Green-Star-3 office tower curtain wall cold-bridge fix 5mm adhesive-backed aerogel blanket wrapped around aluminium mullions Coldest surface temperature lifted from 11°C → 18.1°C → zero condensation

Client immediately added three more towers.

Nanshan, Shenzhen – 18-storey affordable housing Original tender: 100mm rockwool + 50mm XPS Switched to 10mm aerogel blanket + 30mm pearl mortar Total insulation thickness cut 70mm → developer gained ~5% extra sellable floor area = extra 100 million RMB profit

The exact models I now use exclusively in 2025 (all in stock):

3mm / 5mm / 10mm /20mm hydrophobic A1/A2 aerogel blanket

With or without PE film / aluminium foil permanent vapour barrier

Roll width 1.5 m, any length

Site rules I now beat into every foreman:

Clean substrate or the adhesive fails in 3 days

45° scarf joints at corners – no butt joints

Screws through rainscreen battens must have insulation washers

Cut with hot knife only – no utility knife dust

2025 landed pricing (what I actually pay for 40HQ orders):

6mm A1 ≈ US$38-42/m²

10mm A1 ≈ US$52-58/m²

2026 forecast: another 20-25% drop when three new lines come online

Bottom line:

Aerogel blanket isn’t perfect for everything (I still use foamed glass for loaded flat roofs), but for walls, curtain wall cold bridges, steel-frame wraps, heritage retrofits and any job where every millimetre counts – nothing on the planet touches it in 2025.

Want the full 12-project package?

PHPP files, 25-year Nordic ageing reports, CAD details, infrared photos, heat-flux data – just shoot me a message. I’ll send the whole folder for free.

Ruibin An

Hebei Woqin Trading Co., Ltd

WhatsApp / WeChat: +86 13933929092