Impact of the optimization criteria on the determination of the insulation thickness

Barrau, Jérôme; Plana, Manuel; Badía, F.

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.03.017

Cited by 33 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…By way of example, [4,5,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], they focus on their environmental performance, while [4,5,17] also focusing on their cost performance. However, and in agreement with the conclusions from [18], the insulation thickness calculated by applying energy or environmental optimisation criteria give, in some cases, results that are 10-fold higher than those obtained using economic criteria. Thus environmental and cost aspects cannot be evaluated independently, but together in order to reach holistic conclusions.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Table 10 shows these energy indicators after considering the building's entire life span. Most European codes propose a 50-year life span for buildings, and the same period is guaranteed by insulate manufacturers [12,18]. In this study, a 50-year life span was considered for the energy assessment and the eco-efficiency analysis.…”

Section: Stage III Energy Assessment Of Scenarios For Each Insulatimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the type of insulation materials (material manufacturing and thermal properties) and the conditions of the site where the material is installed (e.g. the climatic zone defined by degree-days) also strongly affect the determination of optimum thicknesses [18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental and cost performance of building’s envelope insulation materials to reduce energy demand: Thickness optimisation

Braulio-Gonzalo

Bovea

2017

Energy and Buildings

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Thermal insulation materials play an important role in the challenge of nearly zero-energy buildings thanks to their potential in reducing building's energy demand and carbon emissions. However, increasing the thickness of the insulation material in the building's envelope has implications from the energy, environmental and economic viewpoints. In this context, efforts should be made to optimise insulation thickness to balance all these aspects.This study presents a methodology to analyse optimum insulation material for the building's envelope (roof, façade and floor) and its thickness to achieve energy demand reductions in the operation phase of the building, which is based on the Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing methodologies to integrate both environmental and economic aspects, respectively. The system boundary includes the life cycle stages of product and use defined by recent European standards. A selection of eleven alternative insulation materials, both conventional and emerging ones based on natural products, were chosen to conduct the study. After applying the methodology to a single-family house in Spain and performing a sensitivity analysis, the results revealed that sheep wool and recycled cotton, jointly with traditionally used mineral and glass wool, should be promoted in the construction industry as they offer the highest eco-efficient performance among the analysed insulation materials. Reductions of up to 40% in energy demand compared to regulations standards can be achieved in theeco-efficiency context. Keywords: optimuminsulation thickness; eco-efficiency; life cycle assessment; life cycle cost; energy demand Highlights• Optimising insulation thickness for the building's envelope • Eco-efficiency analysis of life cycle and cost assessment • Sensitivity analysis by varying the building's energy demand scenarios • Emerging naturally-based insulation materials were the most eco-efficient 3

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Stage III Energy Assessment Of Scenarios For Each Insulatimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental and cost performance of building’s envelope insulation materials to reduce energy demand: Thickness optimisation

Braulio-Gonzalo

Bovea

2017

Energy and Buildings

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“…Insulation thickness is an important parameter to consider when applying thermal insulation, thus, there is considerable research about the optimal insulation thickness of the external walls for residential buildings (OTWRB) [14][15][16][17][18]. Since the climate is one of the most important factors in determining the OTWRB [19][20][21], it is necessary to cut down the scope of the contest to the HSCW zone of China for the OTWRB recommended in this certain area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of Insulation Thickness of External Walls of Residential Buildings in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone of China

2020

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It is important to reduce primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with residential buildings in the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) zone of China. Changing the insulation thickness of the external walls of residential buildings (ITEWB) is regarded as an effective way to manage such problems within a budget. This paper aims at developing an innovative way to select the optimal insulation thickness of external walls for residential buildings (OTWRB) in the HSCW zone of China, considering economic, energy and greenhouse gas emissions issues associated with the ITEWB. Four different cities and two different operation modes of the air conditioners (continuous and intermittent) are considered in this study. To explain the selection process, typical hypothetical buildings are simulated in Wuhan, Changsha, Hangzhou and Chengdu. Expanded polystyrene is chosen as the material of the insulation layer while split air conditioners are selected as the equipment for space heating and cooling. Integrated Environmental Solutions-Virtual Environment is used for the dynamic operational energy consumption of buildings. Life cycle cost method is adopted to calculate the economic impact of ITEWB on building performance. The Chinese life cycle database is used to quantize the impacts of ITEWB on building performance in the aspect of energy and greenhouse gas emissions based on the life cycle theory. The most appreciated insulation thickness is chosen from the thickness range of 30 mm to 150 mm. We find that for continuous operation mode of air conditioners in Wuhan, the optimal economic insulation thickness is 70 mm, whereas when considering only energy and environmental aspects, the OTWRB is 150 mm. These are all larger than the current insulation thickness which is 30 mm. When the weighting efficiencies of the economy, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions are different, the OTWRB varies from 70 mm to 150 mm for continuous operation mode. The different cities have little influence on the OTWRB while the different operation modes of air conditioners have some influence on the OTWRB.

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“…Die Frage, welche Dämmdicken bei Gebäuden energetisch, ökologisch oder ökonomisch sinnvoll sind, wurde bereits in zahlreichen Arbeiten behandelt. Es wurden Überlegungen zu Betriebsenergie und grauer Energie bei Gebäuden formuliert [5] bis [9]…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Ökologisch optimale Dämmdicken bei Wohngebäuden

et al. 2015

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Der schweizerische Gebäudepark besteht zu 83 % aus Wohngebäuden. Wohngebäude verursachen in der Schweiz rund 46 % des gesamten Energiebedarfs und 19 % der Gesamtumweltbelastung in der Schweiz [1], [16]. In Bezug auf politisch festgelegte Energieeffizienz-und Umweltschutz-Ziele stellt sich im Wohnbau vor allem die Frage, welcher Wärmeschutz und welche Art der Beheizung optimale Ergebnisse erzielen. In einer vom Bundesamt für Energie beauftragten Studie wurden die ökologisch optimalen Dämmdicken bei Wohngebäuden in der Schweiz ermittelt [10]. Um den Einfluss bestimmter verschiedener Umweltaspekte zu berücksichtigen, wurden die Indikatoren Primärenergie, Treibhauspotenzial und Umweltbelastungspunkte verwendet. Es wurde ein mathematisches Modell zur analytischen Berechnung des Optimums entwickelt. Der Einfluss verschiedener Parameter, wie zum Beispiel des Dämmstoffes, des Standortes oder des Energieträgers, wurde aufgezeigt. Die entwickelte Berechnungsmethode erlaubt eine quantitative, ökologische Analyse von Dämmstandards. Verschiedene Optimierungskriterien führen zu unterschiedlichen optimalen Dämmdicken. In vielen Fällen ist besonders der erste Bereich der Wärmedämmung -knapp 20 cm (U ≈ 0,15 W/(m 2 K)) -für die Minimierung der Umweltbelastung von Wohngebäuden äußerst wichtig.Ecologically optimal insulation thicknesses for residential buildings. The Swiss building stock consists of 83 % residential buildings. Residential buildings cause 46 % of the total energy demand and 19 % of the total environmental impact in Switzerland [1], [16]. The question then arises as to which insulation thicknesses and what types of heating systems are optimal? In a survey the optimal insulation thicknesses for residential buildings in Switzerland were calculated [10]. In order to take the influence of the focus on different environmental aspects into account, primary energy, global warming potential and environmental impact points were used as optimization criteria. A mathematical model for the analytical calculation of the optimum was developed. The influence of different parameters (e. g. the influence of the insulation material or the location or the energy carrier) was shown. The developed calculation method allows a quantitative analysis of ecological insulation standards. The three environmental indicators lead to different optimal insulation thicknesses. In many cases, particularly the first part of the thermal insulation -approximately 20 cm (equals U ≈ 0.15 W/(m 2 K)) -is crucial in order to minimize the environmental impact of residential buildings.

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Impact of the optimization criteria on the determination of the insulation thickness

Cited by 33 publications

References 26 publications

Environmental and cost performance of building’s envelope insulation materials to reduce energy demand: Thickness optimisation

Environmental and cost performance of building’s envelope insulation materials to reduce energy demand: Thickness optimisation

Optimization of Insulation Thickness of External Walls of Residential Buildings in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone of China

Ökologisch optimale Dämmdicken bei Wohngebäuden

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