Thermal conductivity common use in the construction and textile industries. The construction industry makes use of units such as the R-value (resistance) and the U-value (transmittance). Although related to the thermal conductivity of a material used in an insulation product, R- and U-values are dependent on the thickness of the product. Likewise the textile industry has several units including the tog and the clo which express thermal resistance of a material in a way analogous to the R-values used in the construction industry. There are a number of ways to measure thermal conductivity. Each of these is suitable for a limited range
R-value (insulation) formula_1 divided by the R-value and then multiplied by the surface area of the object's side gives the "total rate of heat flow through the object" (as measured in Watts or in BTUs per hour). Moreover, as long as the materials involved are dense solids in direct mutual contact, R-values are additive; for example, the total R-value of an object composed of several layers of material is the sum of the R-values of the individual Note that the R-value is the building industry term for what is in other contexts called ″thermal resistance per unit It is sometimes denoted RSI-value