{ "model": { "rank": 10385, "code": "thing-q918306", "model_id": "vr.tr.thermal-insulation", "name": "thermal insulation", "purpose": "Let an agent explain thermal insulation, relay principles, materials, ratings and building applications from building science sources, describe the named forms, route asbestos and fire safety, and distinguish thermal insulation from electrical insulation, acoustic insulation, weatherproofing and vapour barriers.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Cross-cutting context", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "XCT", "domain": "XCT.QLT", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q918306/", "tier": 2, "score": 45, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "building insulation", "home insulation", "roof insulation", "rigid panel insulation", "cementitious foam insulation", "exterior insulation finishing system", "multi-layer insulation", "internal wall insulation", "superinsulation" ], "aliasCount": 9, "merged": 9, "knownIn": 45, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": "vr.tr.thermal-insulation", "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q918306", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q918306", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-14T02:02:46Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify", "pass": 2, "wave": 4, "engine": "claude" }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q918306", "registryId": "vr.tr.thermal-insulation", "name": "thermal insulation", "version": "0.2.0-wave.4", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "XCT.QLT" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q918306/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.thermal-insulation", "name": "thermal insulation", "purpose": "Let an agent explain thermal insulation, relay principles, materials, ratings and building applications from building science sources, describe the named forms, route asbestos and fire safety, and distinguish thermal insulation from electrical insulation, acoustic insulation, weatherproofing and vapour barriers.", "definition": "The reduction of heat transfer between objects by using materials with low thermal conductivity or reflective surfaces, widely applied to buildings to save energy and improve comfort, with forms the registry aliases name such as building, home and roof insulation, rigid panel insulation, cementitious foam insulation and external insulation finishing systems; materials include mineral wool, foam boards, cellulose and aerogels, rated by R-value or U-value. Some older insulation contains asbestos, and some foams raise fire and off-gassing concerns, so materials should be chosen and handled per regulations, and suspected asbestos should be assessed by professionals.", "what_it_is_for": "Reducing heat transfer, especially in buildings.", "affordances": [ "explain principles and materials", "relay ratings and applications", "describe named forms", "route asbestos and fire safety" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Low conductivity", "Building energy saving", "R-value and U-value", "Material safety concerns" ], "appearance": "Batts, boards, foams and loose fill in walls, roofs and floors.", "visual_identification": [ "Material reducing heat transfer", "Building insulation, home insulation, roof insulation, rigid panel insulation, cementitious foam insulation, exterior insulation finishing system", "Electrical insulation blocks current; acoustic insulation reduces sound; weatherproofing blocks water; vapour barriers control moisture" ], "physical_properties": [ { "quantity": "rating", "typical_range": "R-value and U-value", "unit": "note", "note": "" }, { "quantity": "materials", "typical_range": "mineral wool, foam, cellulose, aerogel", "unit": "list", "note": "" }, { "quantity": "registry parent", "typical_range": "insulation", "unit": "note", "note": "" } ], "families_and_kinds": [ "bulk insulation such as batts and loose fill", "rigid panel insulation", "foam insulation", "reflective insulation" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "insulation", "why": "in registry terms" }, { "relation": "is rated by", "target": "R-value", "why": "" }, { "relation": "is contrasted with", "target": "electrical insulation", "why": "" }, { "relation": "is contrasted with", "target": "soundproofing", "why": "" } ], "identifiers": [], "standards_and_regulation": [ "Building energy codes", "Asbestos regulations for old insulation", "Fire safety standards for insulation materials" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Asbestos in old insulation", "Fire and off-gassing of some foams", "Moisture and mould from poor detailing" ], "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [] }, "sources": [], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "understand", "name": "Understand", "description": "What thermal insulation is.", "rationale": "Science.", "layers": [ { "id": "definition", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition.", "findings": [ { "id": "definition-finding", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition.", "questions": [ { "text": "Is there suspected asbestos in old insulation, in which case do not disturb it and have it assessed by professionals?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "text": "What is thermal insulation, and how does it differ from electrical and acoustic insulation, weatherproofing and vapour barriers?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "forms", "name": "Forms", "description": "Named forms.", "findings": [ { "id": "forms-finding", "name": "Forms", "description": "Forms.", "questions": [ { "text": "What are building, roof, rigid panel, cementitious foam and external insulation systems?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Which entry fits the specific form?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "science", "name": "Science", "description": "Principles.", "rationale": "Science.", "layers": [ { "id": "conduction", "name": "Conduction", "description": "Heat transfer.", "findings": [ { "id": "conduction-finding", "name": "Conduction", "description": "Conduction.", "questions": [ { "text": "How does insulation reduce conduction, convection and radiation?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which references are standard?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "ratings", "name": "Ratings", "description": "R-value and U-value.", "findings": [ { "id": "ratings-finding", "name": "Ratings", "description": "Ratings.", "questions": [ { "text": "How are R-value and U-value used to rate insulation?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "text": "Which sources are cited?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "materials", "name": "Materials", "description": "Materials.", "rationale": "Regulation.", "layers": [ { "id": "bulk", "name": "Bulk", "description": "Bulk materials.", "findings": [ { "id": "bulk-finding", "name": "Bulk", "description": "Bulk.", "questions": [ { "text": "What are mineral wool, cellulose and foam insulations?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits mineral wool?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "modern", "name": "Modern", "description": "Aerogels and panels.", "findings": [ { "id": "modern-finding", "name": "Modern", "description": "Modern.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do aerogels and vacuum panels achieve high performance?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Is the information current?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "context", "name": "Context", "description": "Safety and efficiency.", "rationale": "Regulation.", "layers": [ { "id": "safety", "name": "Safety", "description": "Asbestos and fire.", "findings": [ { "id": "safety-finding", "name": "Safety", "description": "Safety.", "questions": [ { "text": "Why do asbestos and some foams raise safety concerns?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits asbestos?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "energy", "name": "Energy", "description": "Energy efficiency.", "findings": [ { "id": "energy-finding", "name": "Energy", "description": "Energy.", "questions": [ { "text": "How does insulation reduce building energy use, with figures attributed?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Is the presentation neutral and attributed?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Should electrical and acoustic insulation be clearly separated?", "How should building energy codes be linked?", "Should aerogel and modern materials be documented?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "abstract concept", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a thermal insulation, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Let an agent explain thermal insulation, relay principles, materials, ratings and building applications from building science sources, describe the named forms, route asbestos and fire safety, and distinguish thermal insulation from electrical insulation, acoustic insulation, weatherproofing and vapour barriers.", "characteristics": { "substance": "abstract", "origin": "conceptual", "agency": "inert" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: building insulation, home insulation, roof insulation, rigid panel insulation, cementitious foam insulation, exterior insulation finishing system, multi-layer insulation, internal wall insulation, superinsulation.", "9 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 45 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a thermal insulation, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "an abstraction with no physical instance", "physicalCharacter": [ "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "Nothing to see. What is recognised is an instance of it, and which instances count is exactly what is argued about." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "building insulation", "home insulation", "roof insulation", "rigid panel insulation", "cementitious foam insulation", "exterior insulation finishing system", "multi-layer insulation", "internal wall insulation", "superinsulation" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 45 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 9 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one thermal insulation from another, and a thermal insulation from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a thermal insulation sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a thermal insulation from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a thermal insulation passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a thermal insulation between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a thermal insulation, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a thermal insulation is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "definitions-in-contest", "name": "Definitions and who holds them", "description": "What thermal insulation is taken to mean, and by whom.", "rationale": "When a field disagrees about a concept, the disagreement is the content. A model that picks one definition silently destroys the information.", "layers": [ { "id": "competing-definitions", "name": "Competing definitions", "description": "The main readings and the traditions behind them.", "findings": [ { "id": "definition-map", "name": "Definitions and their holders", "description": "Each definition with the school or body that holds it.", "questions": [ { "id": "definition-map-q01", "text": "Which definitions of thermal insulation are in use, and which tradition or body holds each?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "definition-map-q02", "text": "What turns on the difference between them in practice?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "operationalisation", "name": "Operationalisation", "description": "How it is measured or applied when it has to be.", "findings": [ { "id": "operational-record", "name": "Measures and proxies", "description": "Instruments and indicators used to stand in for it.", "questions": [ { "id": "operational-record-q01", "text": "How is thermal insulation operationalised or measured in practice, and by what instrument?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "operational-record-q02", "text": "What does that operationalisation leave out, and when does that matter?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "instances-and-use", "name": "Instances, use and consequence", "description": "What counts as an instance of thermal insulation and what follows from calling something that.", "rationale": "Applying a concept is an act with consequences, so a model must say what the label licenses and what it does not.", "layers": [ { "id": "instances", "name": "What counts as an instance", "description": "Clear cases, borderline cases and non-cases.", "findings": [ { "id": "instance-tests", "name": "Tests for an instance", "description": "What would settle whether something falls under it.", "questions": [ { "id": "instance-tests-q01", "text": "What would settle whether something is an instance of thermal insulation?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "instance-tests-q02", "text": "Which borderline cases are argued about, and on what grounds?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "consequence", "name": "Consequence of application", "description": "Rights, duties or decisions that follow from the label.", "findings": [ { "id": "consequence-record", "name": "What the label licenses", "description": "What an agent may do once something is classified this way.", "questions": [ { "id": "consequence-record-q01", "text": "What follows practically once something is treated as thermal insulation?", "kind": "action" }, { "id": "consequence-record-q02", "text": "What must an agent not infer from the label alone?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a thermal insulation came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a thermal insulation and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a thermal insulation is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a thermal insulation, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a thermal insulation, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a thermal insulation is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 5, "layers": 10, "findings": 12, "questions": 32 } } } }