Yurt Insulation – How to Insulate a Yurt for Every Season

There are several huge advantages that come with having yurt as your residency - they are very affordable, easy to make, quite durable, and environmentally friendly, and they will be ready for you to move in in a very short time frame. But what about insulation? I mean, it tends to be cold, or extremely hot wherever in nature your yurt is positioned, so yurt insulation has to be the thing you think about before you make the decision to change the address and move in the middle of nowhere for a while.

In the lines that follow there will be more about how to insulate a yurt and what to pay extra attention to when investing in yurt insulation, but for starters let’s see what exactly a yurt is by definition.

What is a Yurt?

A yurt is a round-shaped house that cannot be described as a building since it never comes with a foundation. As we mentioned, it can come with a portable or more permanent construction, and in most cases, it has a collapsible wood frame on top of which goes some kind of fabric covering.

Yurts are a lot like tents because they work on the same principle, but yurts do provide more comfort and are a better solution when living in nature for a longer period of time. These cylindrical objects have conic roofs and represent an adventurous home choice.

Now, even though yurts won’t be usually recommended for extreme climates, with proper insulation and some other specific preparations, they can provide a decent residence in both hot and cold climates.

While yurts have a unique circular design, they share many insulation principles with conventional homes. Proper roof, wall, and floor insulation helps improve comfort, reduce energy costs, and control condensation in every season. Learn more in our House Insulation Guide.

Traditional vs modern yurt

When we say traditional yurts we immediately think of those tent-like objects placed in deserted fields in Central Asia. And that’s exactly where they come from. Fort thousands of years yurts were home to people who lived in this part of the world, and even though there are many shapes and variations of yurts that were being used as shelters for hundreds of years, there are two main types of traditional yurts - the bentwood yurts and ger.

The ger is a Mongolian yurt that has an old structure that implies a heavy central ring and lattice yurt walls connected with straight rafters. And that design right there will be an inspiration for modern-looking yurts that are nowadays in usage. The ger is lightweight, easy to assemble, and has great aerodynamics which was of extreme importance for the people in the Central Asia steppe where it is super windy.

Modern yurt doesn’t look that much different than the traditional one, but its structure is more sturdy and resilient, and usually, it is a well insulated yurt. It is based on that round-shaped look with straight rafters and lattice walls, but modernization took its course and now you can see a yurt with a skylight dome that can open and close. Also, modern yurts come with windows that can be heavily insulated, and with high-class yurt fabric that can last for decades.

Besides that, modern yurts can have a central column that should add to snow load capacity, and gutters, which is important in heavy rain locations. The additional comfort inside the yurt comes from having fan support and improved air circulation, but the fact is modern yurts are not as portable as traditional ones were. That’s because there’s usually a wood floor under which is placed electricity, plumbing, and heating installation.

Many portable yurts are transported and installed on trailer platforms or share similar lightweight construction methods. If your project involves a trailer-based structure, our Trailer Insulation Guide explains how to insulate trailer roofs, walls, floors, doors, and windows for year-round comfort.

If you're insulating a camper, travel trailer, motorhome, or other mobile living space, many of the same insulation principles apply. Our RV Insulation Guide shows how reflective insulation helps reduce radiant heat, condensation, and energy loss in recreational vehicles.

Modern yurts share many characteristics with tiny homes, including compact living spaces, limited wall thickness, and the need for lightweight, high-performance insulation. Our Tiny House Insulation Guide explains how reflective insulation helps maximize comfort while preserving valuable interior space.

How to insulate a yurt

Most yurts you can purchase these days come with a pretty basic level of insulation. And that’s fine if you plan to use this yurt in mild climate locations. But heavier conditions demand a heavier insulation approach, so here is what you need to know.

Insulate walls

First, you need to make sure the biggest section of a yurt, and those are the walls, is properly insulated. You need to add some extra insulation layers to make sure the temperature from the outside isn’t taking over the interior of the yurt, and another way around. These yurt covers need to have a high R-value in order for them to be energy efficient.

WHITE Prodex Total Insulation 5M Plus can be a great solution for the inside of the yurt wall insulation given it has a beautiful white finish so the insulating surfaces will look attractive, but the truth is there are many other insulation options that can be effective in this matter.

Insulate roof

The second most important aspect of yurt insulation is the ceiling or the roof of the construction. It’s because this is the second largest surface of the yurt, but also the roof of this round-shaped building is directly exposed to the sun, so a lot of heat will come through it inside the yurt.

One of the ways to insulate the roof is to place mineral wool or foam boards between the roof rafters. That should do the job, and if you think the ceiling looks ugly now and you care about the aesthetics, you can use some fabric to cover it or make it less visible. The other solution is to insulate below the top of the yurt with a reflective insulation that can be the thermal blocker and the shield that can ward off the radiant energy from the sun.

Insulate floor

Regarding this aspect of insulation, you need to know some modern yurts come with heated floors, so the insulation at these homes can be pretty advanced. And that’s okay for yurts that really serve as home and not just permanent residency for a couple of days.

If we are talking about those types of yurts then floors can be effectively insulated in two ways. If the yurt has a wooden platform underneath it you can always place some hay bales right below the floor itself. In that case, it is important to protect the hay from decomposing by placing hay bales into plastic bags. Also, you can add a yurt skirt so the air circulation below the platform stops completely.

And in case the yurt doesn't have a wooden platform but it’s positioned directly on the ground, then your options are quite limited. You can use some carpets that will make some insulation progress but a small one, and you will have to make heating a non-stop cycle in case you are in a colder climate.

Like yurts, mobile and manufactured homes benefit from effective roof, wall, floor, and underbelly insulation to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures throughout the year. Visit our Mobile Home Insulation Guide to learn more about insulating lightweight residential structures.

Why Choose Prodex Total Insulation for Yurts

Believe it or not, there are so many materials you can choose from when insulating a yurt. There’s cotton, wool, Prodex, foam, fiberglass, reflective materials, and several more that are rarely used if any of these options are available.

Cotton - extremely popular for temporarily insulated walls of a yurt because besides cotton covers being good insulation they are very breathable as well.

Wool - equally effective as cotton but much more affordable. Wool blankets can be easily shaped to fit all the cavities and dents inside the yurt but they do stay exposed like that so this isn’t one of those “pretty” insulation options.

10M Prodex Total Insulation Plus - this insulation material has great tearing resistance and is easy to install, but it is a good solution for more permanent yurts. Prodex Total works in both cold and hot climates well.

Reflective insulation is also one of the most effective insulation systems for steel structures where radiant heat and condensation are major concerns. Our Shipping Container Home Insulation Guide explains how reflective insulation helps keep container homes cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and dry throughout the year.

Difference between tent and yurt

You may think a yurt is some sort of a tent if you don’t know better or if you haven’t even heard about yurts, but the truth is these two are not the same. Yes, there are some similarities, besides the visual part, given the yurt can be removable, just like a tent, or built from fabric, just like a tent, but they are different in many aspects.

Yurt is much more structural and steady than a tent. It contains a round central formation, a lattice wall, always a lattice wall, and rafters that hold the structure of the wall and roof together. Then, there is the matter of size. The yurt is much larger than big tents, and it can accommodate more people.

Also, yurts can provide much more comfort, which is essential for people who plan on staying in this temporary home for quite some time. Now, tents are more portable and lighter, so when a person doesn't need to move their residency from one place to another quickly or pretty often, the tent is a slightly better option. 

Yurt Insulation Is Part of Our Residential Insulation Guides

Yurts are just one of many homes that benefit from lightweight, moisture-resistant reflective insulation. Whether you're building a permanent residence or an alternative living space, the goals remain the same: improve comfort, reduce energy costs, and control condensation throughout the year.

Residential Insulation Solutions

Explore our complete residential insulation guides:

• House Insulation — Improve comfort by insulating roofs, walls, floors, attics, crawl spaces, and garages.
• Tiny House Insulation — Maximize insulation performance while preserving valuable interior living space.
• Mobile Home Insulation — Learn how to insulate mobile home roofs, walls, floors, crawl spaces, and underbellies.
• Trailer Insulation — Reduce radiant heat, condensation, and air leaks in cargo trailers, enclosed trailers, and tiny homes on trailers.
• RV Insulation — Keep campers, travel trailers, and motorhomes comfortable in every season.
• Shipping Container Home Insulation — Prevent condensation while improving thermal performance in steel container homes.

One Insulation Solution for Many Types of Homes

Whether you're insulating a yurt, house, tiny house, mobile home, trailer, RV, or shipping container home, the objectives are the same:

• Stay cooler during summer.
• Stay warmer during winter.
• Reduce heating and cooling costs.
• Control condensation and moisture.
• Improve year-round comfort.

Prodex Total = Insulation + Radiant Barrier + Vapor Barrier — All in One Product.

Cool in the Summer. Warm in the Winter. Dry all the Time. One Solution to heat, cold and Condensation - Prodex Total.