R-Value ↔ U-Value Insulation Converter
R-value (thermal resistance) measures a material's ability to resist heat flow — the higher the better. U-value (thermal transmittance) is the inverse — the lower the better. They are mathematically reciprocals (U = 1 ⁄ R), but the SI (m²·K/W) and US (ft²·°F·h/BTU) unit systems differ by a factor of 5.678263, which routinely trips up anyone comparing manufacturer datasheets across regions. Enter any of R or U in either unit system; the tool returns all four values plus a code-context performance band.
Common presets
Enter a valid positive R or U value.
R (SI)
5.28
m²·K/W
R (US)
30.00
ft²·°F·h/BTU
U (SI)
0.189
W/(m²·K)
U (US)
0.033
BTU/(ft²·°F·h)
Performance band
High (current code ceiling / nZEB wall)
R and U are reciprocals: U = 1 ⁄ R. SI ↔ US conversion: R_US = R_SI × 5.678263 (ASHRAE Fundamentals 2021).
Formula
U = 1 ⁄ R; R_US = R_SI × 5.678263; U_US = U_SI ⁄ 5.678263 (ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals 2021).
- · SI units: R = m²·K/W, U = W/(m²·K); used by ISO 6946 and EN standards.
- · US units: R = ft²·°F·h/BTU, U = BTU/(ft²·°F·h); used by IECC, ASHRAE 90.1 and NFRC.
- · The 5.678263 factor comes from BTU·in/(ft²·°F·h) ↔ W/(m·K) plus area ratio: R_SI × 5.678263 = R_US.
- · Window benchmarks: single-pane U_SI ≈ 5.7; double ≈ 2.7; Low-E double ≈ 1.6; triple+argon ≈ 0.8; Passive House wall U_SI ≤ 0.15.
- · US batt ratings: R-13 stud cavity ≈ R_SI 2.29; R-30 attic ≈ R_SI 5.28; R-49 cold-zone attic ≈ R_SI 8.63 (IECC 2021 zone 5).
- · UK Part L1A 2022 caps wall U at 0.18 W/(m²·K) — that is R_SI ≥ 5.56 or R_US ≥ 31.5.
- · References: ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals (2021, SI edition) ch. 25; ISO 6946:2017; NFRC 100/200 fenestration ratings.
Frequently asked
Why do American and European R-values seem to differ by ~5×?
Different unit systems. An "R-30" batt in the US is in ft²·°F·h/BTU; the same panel reads R_SI 5.28 m²·K/W in Europe — identical physical object, different units. The exact factor is R_US = R_SI × 5.678263. So a Canadian, UK or EU spec sheet showing R 5 isn't weaker than R-30 — it can be stronger. Quick sanity checks: (1) always look at the unit suffix; (2) in imperial, residential walls run R-13 to R-21 and attics R-30 to R-49; (3) in SI, walls 2–4 and attics 5–8 are typical. Passive House targets R_SI 6.7 walls and 10 roofs, equivalent to R-38 walls and R-57 roofs in US terms.
Which is the "official" spec — U or R?
Both are official; they describe different things. Whole-window, whole-wall and whole-roof assemblies use U-value because Q = U × A × ΔT plugs directly in for heat-loss calculations. NFRC (US/Canada windows), UK Part L and EU EPBD all quote U_window. Single-layer insulation products (fibreglass batt, EPS board) use R-value because R scales linearly with thickness, so a label like R-13 or R-30 lets customers spec by thickness. Practical tips: (a) comparing windows or doors → use U, smaller is better; (b) comparing insulation board → use R, bigger is better; (c) whole-wall assemblies → use assembly U (accounts for stud thermal bridging); (d) computing Q = U × A × ΔT → always U_SI.
Is more R-value always better — can I keep stacking?
In theory yes, but the marginal payoff falls off quickly. Going R-13 → R-30 on a wall cuts conductive heat loss from ~100 % to ~43 % (a 57-point drop). Going R-30 → R-60 only saves another 21.5 % (43 → 21.5 %). R-60 → R-100 saves a further 8.5 %. Several real-world ceilings: (1) Thickness — high-R walls eat floor area; in expensive land markets (Hong Kong, Tokyo) the lost square metres often outweigh energy savings. (2) Thermal bridging — stud cavities, window frames and slab edges leak heat regardless of cavity insulation, so beyond ~R-30 you need continuous exterior insulation to keep gaining. (3) Moisture — extra insulation shifts the dew point inward; without proper vapour control you can trap condensation in the wall. (4) Payback — going from R-30 to R-60 in a mild climate can take 30+ years to pay back; in arctic climates it pays off in <10. The current consensus is that above Passive House levels (R_SI 6–10) marginal cost/benefit is unfavourable for most climates.
Related tools
Length Unit Converter
Cm, m, km, in, ft, yd, mi — common length units, converted instantly.
Temperature Converter
Convert between Celsius (°C), Fahrenheit (°F) and Kelvin (K) instantly.
Shoe Size Converter (US / UK / EU / CM)
Enter your foot length or a size in any system to see the equivalent US / UK / EU and centimetre sizes.
Paper Size Reference
Pick a paper size (A0–A10, B / C series, Letter, Legal, card sizes) to see its mm / cm / inch / pixel dimensions.
Number Base Converter (Binary / Octal / Decimal / Hex)
Convert a number simultaneously between binary, octal, decimal and hexadecimal — useful for programmers, students and electronics work.
Aspect Ratio & Screen Size Calculator
From an aspect ratio and one side, find the other; or from a diagonal and ratio, get real width and height (4:3, 16:9, 21:9 …).
Data Storage Unit Converter (B/KB/MB/GB/TB)
Convert between bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB and PB — distinguishing decimal (1000-base, drive labels) from binary (1024-base, OS-reported).
RGB ↔ HEX ↔ HSL Color Converter
Convert between HEX (#RRGGBB), RGB(0–255) and HSL(0–360, 0–100, 0–100) instantly — with a live colour preview swatch.
Tire Size Calculator (Spec / Diameter / Speedometer Error)
Convert a P-metric tire spec (e.g. 225/65R17) into sidewall height, overall diameter, circumference and revolutions per km — and compare against a reference size to see speedometer error.
Energy Unit Converter (J / kJ / cal / kcal / kWh / BTU / Wh)
Convert between joules, kilojoules, calories, kilocalories, kilowatt-hours, BTU and watt-hours in a single view — for nutrition labels, electricity bills, heating and fuel comparisons.
Pressure Unit Converter
Convert between Pa, kPa, bar, mbar, atm, psi, mmHg, Torr and inHg in a single view — all the everyday pressure units.
Torque Unit Converter
Convert between N·m, kgf·m, kgf·cm, lbf·ft, lbf·in and ozf·in — all the torque units used on torque wrenches, bicycle bolts and car service specs.
Angle Unit Converter
Convert between degrees, radians, gradians, turns, arcminutes, arcseconds, milliradians and NATO mil — with live sin/cos/tan values for reference.
Fuel Economy Converter (MPG ⇄ L/100km)
Convert between L/100km, km/L, US MPG and UK (imperial) MPG — compare car efficiency figures across regions without arithmetic.
Power Unit Converter
Convert between W, kW, MW, mechanical horsepower (hp), metric horsepower (PS), BTU/hr, ft·lbf/s, cal/s, kcal/h and refrigeration tons in one view.
px ↔ rem ↔ em Converter
Pick a root font-size (defaults to 16 px) and convert any CSS pixel, rem, em, percentage or point value into the others, with a reference table for common sizes.
Alcohol ABV ↔ Proof Converter & Standard Drinks Calculator
Convert alcohol by volume (ABV %) to US proof and UK proof, plus compute grams of pure alcohol and "standard drinks" per pour for US / UK / AU / HK.
Bandwidth & Throughput Converter (Mbps ↔ MB/s)
Convert network bandwidth (kbps, Mbps, Gbps) to file-transfer rate (KB/s, MB/s, MiB/s) and estimate how long a given file size takes.
Weight / Mass Unit Converter
Kilograms, grams, milligrams, pounds, ounces, stones, tonnes, jin and tael — common mass units, converted instantly.
Battery mAh ↔ Wh Converter (Power Bank Airline Rules)
Enter battery capacity (mAh) and voltage (V) to get watt-hours (Wh) instantly — with a live IATA airline check (100 Wh / 160 Wh cut-offs).
International Bra Size Converter
Enter underbust and bust (or pick a local size) to convert bra sizes across US, UK, EU, AU and JP standards.
International Ring Size Converter
Enter inner circumference (mm) or diameter to cross-reference US, UK, EU, JP and HK ring sizes.
Area Unit Converter
Square metres, hectares, acres, square feet, square miles and more — common area units, converted instantly.
Volume / Capacity Unit Converter
Litres, millilitres, cubic metres, US and imperial gallons, quarts, pints, fluid ounces, cups, tablespoons and teaspoons — converted instantly.
Speed Unit Converter
Convert freely between km/h, mph, m/s, ft/s, knots and Mach number.
Color Contrast Ratio (WCAG) Calculator
Enter foreground and background hex colors to compute the WCAG 2.x contrast ratio (1:1 to 21:1) and see whether the pair passes AA / AAA accessibility levels for normal and large text.
AWG Wire Size Calculator
Look up the diameter (mm), cross-sectional area (mm²), resistance per kilometre and safe ampacity for any American Wire Gauge (AWG) size — handy for low-voltage wiring design.
Frequency Unit Converter (Hz / kHz / MHz / GHz)
Convert between Hz, kHz, MHz, GHz, THz, RPM and BPM — one input fills every other unit instantly.
Force Unit Converter (N / kN / lbf / kgf / dyne)
Convert between newtons (N), kilonewtons (kN), pound-force (lbf), kilogram-force (kgf), dyne and ounce-force (ozf) — bridging SI, imperial and CGS force units used in physics and engineering.
Magnetic Flux Density Converter (T / mT / µT / Gauss)
Convert magnetic flux density between tesla (T), millitesla (mT), microtesla (µT), gauss (G) and milligauss (mG) — handy for comparing MRI fields, Earth field, speakers and lab magnets across very different scales.
Volumetric (Dimensional) Weight Calculator (Air / Courier)
Enter parcel length × width × height and DIM divisor (IATA air 6000 cm³/kg, express 5000, UPS/FedEx US 139 in³/lb) to compute volumetric weight and compare it with actual weight to find the chargeable weight.
Polar ↔ Cartesian Coordinate Converter
Convert Cartesian (x, y) ↔ polar (r, θ) coordinates in either direction with a degree/radian toggle — useful for math, physics, engineering and game-development work.
Astronomical Distance Converter (ly / pc / AU / km)
Enter any distance and the tool converts it across metres, kilometres, miles, Earth–Moon distance, astronomical units (AU), light-years, parsecs and light-travel time — useful for astronomy, science fiction and classroom prep.
Map Scale Distance Converter
Enter a scale ratio (e.g. 1:25 000) and a measured map distance; the tool returns the real-world distance, or works in reverse from real distance to map distance — useful for hiking, map reading and town planning.
DMS ↔ Decimal Degrees Converter
Two-way conversion between degrees–minutes–seconds (D° M′ S″) and decimal degrees — the standard need when juggling GPS coordinates, astronomy, surveying and marine navigation. Supports signed values for south latitude and west longitude.
Hat Size Converter (Head Circumference → US/UK/EU/JP)
Enter your head circumference (cm or inches); the tool maps it to US (fitted and fractional), UK, EU (cm) and Japanese hat sizes plus the S/M/L/XL range — useful for buying New Era caps, fedoras, baseball caps and helmet liners online.
kW ⇄ Horsepower Converter (kW / HP / PS)
Convert between kilowatt (kW), mechanical horsepower (HP), metric horsepower (PS / cheval-vapeur), brake horsepower (BHP), and foot-pound-force per second — the standard unit set for cars, engines, generators and power tools across UK / US / EU / JP markings.
Lumens ⇄ Lux Converter (lm ⇄ lx)
Enter the luminous flux (lumens, lm) of a fixture and the lit area; the tool returns the illuminance (lux = lm/m²) and can solve for the lumens required to hit a target lux — used for room lighting design, photography, grow lights and workplace illuminance planning.
Wheel Rolling Distance & RPM Calculator
Enter wheel diameter (or circumference) and RPM (or speed); the tool applies C = π·d to return rolling distance per revolution, distance per minute and the matching road speed (km/h, mph) — useful for bikes, cars, conveyors, gears and physics class.
Megapixels ⇄ Print Size Calculator (DPI / PPI)
Enter image pixels (e.g. 24 MP or 6000 × 4000) and target print resolution (300 DPI photo, 240 DPI relaxed, 150 DPI poster); the tool returns the maximum print size in inches and cm, and works in reverse to find the megapixels needed for a desired print — a workhorse for photo printing, poster design and album layout.
BPM ↔ Milliseconds Delay Calculator (Music Tempo)
Enter a track's BPM and the tool returns the millisecond delay time for every common note value — whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second — plus dotted and triplet variants. Essential for producers setting echo, reverb pre-delay and sidechain timing in any DAW.
Video Bitrate ↔ File Size Calculator
Enter video duration (minutes), video bitrate (Mbps) and audio bitrate (kbps); the tool computes the resulting file size in GB ⁄ MB and runs the inverse: given a target file size, what bitrate fits. Handy for YouTube uploads, streaming budgets and estimating SD-card / cloud-storage requirements.
Morse Code ↔ Text Converter
Enter text or Morse code; the tool converts in either direction using the ITU-R M.1677-1 international Morse alphabet (letters, digits and standard punctuation), with conventional 3-space letter gaps and 7-space word gaps. Standard reference for amateur radio (HAM), scouting and emergency-comms training.
Beaufort Wind Scale Calculator (Force 0–12)
Enter wind speed in any unit (m/s, km/h, mph or knots); the tool maps it to Beaufort force 0–12 per the WMO standard, with the official sea-state and land-condition description. The international shorthand for sailors, hikers, aviators and outdoor sports.
Paper Weight Converter (gsm ↔ lb bond / cover / text)
Enter a paper weight in either GSM (metric grammage) or US-system pounds (bond, cover, text, index or tag) and the tool converts in both directions via the basis-weight ratio, plus shows typical use cases (copy paper, business cards, posters, magazine covers) — handy for print buying, design specs and comparing imported paper stock.
Slope / Grade Converter (Percent ↔ Degrees ↔ Rise:Run)
Slope can be expressed three ways: percent grade (rise⁄run × 100 %), degrees (arctan(rise⁄run)) or ratio (1:N). Enter any one and the tool instantly converts to the other two — useful for hiking, cycling, road signs, accessibility ramps and roof pitch.
Blood Glucose Unit Converter (mg/dL ↔ mmol/L)
Enter a blood glucose value; the tool converts between mg/dL and mmol/L — the two globally-used units (mg/dL in the US, mmol/L in Europe, China, Hong Kong and elsewhere). Essential when reading lab reports across borders.