From The Founders
We get asked a lot of questions. But this one from last week deserved its own deep dive:
"I'm curious how you are obtaining an R-50 insulation value with 30mm of EPS insulation when standard EPS has a much lower R-value per inch in most applications. Do you use an air gap or how is the performance obtained? Heat transfer is heat transfer."
They're right. Heat transfer is heat transfer. Physics doesn't bend.
That's exactly why we couldn't just add foam and call it a day. We had to actually engineer a solution based on how heat really moves in a bee colony—which turns out to be a lot more complicated than insulating your attic.
We broke down the full answer on the blog: what R-50 actually means, why we don't use 30mm of insulation (not sure where that started), and what actually matters for your bees.
— The Primal Bee Team
"Wait, how do you get R-50?"
Before we dive into the numbers: why does any of this insulation stuff matter for your bees?
More thermal efficiency means less work. Less work means they need less food. Better energy balance means better biology—stronger immune systems, healthier brood, better populated colonies.
The basic principle: when your hive holds heat efficiently, your bees can dedicate energy to thriving instead of just surviving.
First things first: we don't use 30mm of insulation.
When you look at a Primal Bee hive, here's what you actually see:
The top cover system has 70mm of EPS foam, then a 175mm air chamber, then another 70mm of EPS foam—315mm total up top. The walls range from 65mm to 127mm depending on where you measure. The bottom uses a 110mm insulated board plus a 106mm air chamber separating the nest from cold ground.
R-value isn't as simple as it's cut out to be.
Inside your hive, heat isn't just moving through walls by conduction. You've got air moving from bee activity, temperature differences between the warm brood nest and cooler outer parts, the shape of the space affecting flow, and moisture moving around.
When we tested the full system, we found: top cover at R-140, walls at R-25, bottom system at R-75. Average across the whole hive: R-50.
Compare that to a standard insulated hive: R-7 average.
What actually matters: how much honey your bees burn.
Primal Bee tested at 10 times more energy-efficient than a standard wooden hive. The amount of honey it takes to keep one regular hive warm could keep 10 Primal Bee nests at the right temperature.
Every bit of honey burned for heating is honey that can't go toward fighting mites, building immunity, growing population, or making surplus.
That's the real difference. Not just "it's warmer" but "your bees have energy to spare for everything else."
🐝 Come See Us in January
We're hitting the road! Find Primal Bee at two major beekeeping conferences:
ABF Conference — January 6-10 | Booth #33
NAHBE Conference — January 8-10 | Booth #500
Stop by for show discounts, meet the team, and a few surprises we're not quite ready to announce yet. If you're attending either event, come say hello.
Until Next Time
As 2025 wraps up, we're reflecting on what an incredible year it's been—new beekeepers joining the Primal Bee community, more questions pushing us to explain our approach better (like this week's R-value deep dive), and colonies thriving in conditions that would have challenged them in traditional setups.
To everyone who's been part of this journey: thank you. Whether you've been with us from the start or just discovered us this month, we're grateful you're here.
If you're heading to ABF or NAHBE in January, come find us at the booth. We'd love to meet you in person.
Wishing you and your colonies a warm, restful holiday season. See you in the new year.
Happy holidays,
The Primal Bee Team