Under the guidance of the "dual carbon" goals, aerogel, as a new type of highly efficient insulation material, has been widely applied in multiple fields such as construction, industry, and aerospace, thanks to its advantages of being ultra-thin, energy-saving, and long-lasting. However, this has raised questions among people regarding post-installation protection: Does aerogel require a special protective layer after installation? Based on industry standards and actual engineering cases, I will provide authoritative popular science to help standardize construction practices in the industry. 
Firstly, considering the product characteristics of aerogel, high-quality aerogel itself has certain protective capabilities and there is no need to blindly install special protective layers. Aerogel products adopt advanced nano-composite technology, not only having an extremely low thermal conductivity coefficient, but also possessing excellent water resistance, UV resistance, and wear resistance. Its surface has undergone special treatment and can directly resist the erosion of conventional environments. Under normal use, there will be no performance degradation issues. 
Based on the "Code for Construction and Acceptance of Aerogel Insulation Blanket Thermal Insulation" and over a thousand engineering cases, we have broken down the protection requirements for different scenarios to facilitate precise matching for everyone. For interior building scenarios, such as the interior walls, floors, and ceilings of residential buildings and office buildings, which are in a regular and mild environment, no special protective layer is required after the installation of aerogel. It is only necessary to ensure that the installation is flat and the seams are sealed (with circumferential and longitudinal seams butted, and the gap ≤ 2mm), to fully exert the thermal insulation effect, saving costs and improving construction efficiency. 
In industrial conventional scenarios, such as insulation for normal-temperature pipelines and equipment rooms, if the environment is dry and free of corrosion, aerogel can be directly used. If there is slight moisture or dust in the environment, it is recommended to apply a simple protective measure by covering the aerogel with an aluminum foil thermal reflection film on the outer layer. This can prevent moisture and dust while reducing heat loss. This is also the most commonly used simple protective solution in the industry. 
For harsh environments, special protective layers must be added, which is also the key to ensuring the service life of aerogel. In outdoor open-air scenarios, such as building facades and open-air pipelines, which are exposed to the natural environment for a long time, double protection with fiberglass cloth and waterproof coating is required to resist the erosion of rain, ultraviolet rays and wind and sand; in high-temperature industrial scenarios, such as steam pipelines and metallurgical equipment, where the temperature can reach several hundred or even thousands of degrees Celsius, high-temperature resistant protective layers need to be added, and combined with high-temperature resistant aerogel products, long-term thermal insulation protection in high-temperature environments can be achieved; in strongly corrosive scenarios, such as chemical workshops and marine environments, anti-corrosion protective layers need to be added to prevent the corrosion and damage of aerogel. 
Many engineering parties are concerned that adding special protective layers will increase costs and construction periods. In fact, this is not the case. We can customize exclusive protection plans based on different scenarios and select matching composite aerogel products, such as aerogel insulation blankets with aluminum foil fiberglass cloth. After installation, they can directly replace traditional protective layers without secondary construction, saving both material and labor costs, shortening the construction period, and ensuring the protection effect at the same time.