Influence of Insulating Materials on Green Building Rating System Results

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of a change in the thermal insulating material on both the energy and environmental performance of a building, evaluated through two different green building assessment methods: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Istituto per l'innovazione e Trasparenza degli Appalti e la Compatibilità Ambientale (ITACA). LEED is one of the most qualified rating systems at an international level; it assesses building sustainability thanks to a point-based system where credits are divided into six different categories. One of these is fully related to building materials. The ITACA procedure derives from the international evaluation system Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool), modified according to the Italian context. In the region of Umbria, ITACA certification is composed of 20 technical sheets, which are classified into five macro-areas. The analysis was developed on a residential building located in the central Italy. It was built taking into account the principles of sustainability as far as both structural and technical solutions are concerned. In order to evaluate the influence of thermal insulating material, different configurations of the envelope were considered, replacing the original material (glass wool) with a synthetic one (expanded polystyrene, EPS) and two natural materials (wood fiber and kenaf). The study aims to highlight how the materials characteristics can affect building energy and environmental performance and to point out the different approaches of the analyzed protocols.

A Study on Insulation Characteristics of Glass Wool and Mineral Wool Coated with a Polysiloxane Agent

“…While thermal conductivity change in insulation material by water absorption has been widely reported, the research for retaining insulation effect has not been reported, so that this study developed a moisture resistance and confirmed the waterproof ability of inorganic insulation by processing inorganic insulation materials, glass wool and mineral wool, with the moisture resistance, exposing them to moisture and measuring the amount of moisture increase and thermal conductivity [10][11][12].…”

uhuMEB: Design, Construction, and Management Methodology of Minimum Energy Buildings in Subtropical Climates

“…In recent years, a great deal of research regarding the problem of how to reduce energy consumption in buildings has been carried out [1][2][3], incorporating new materials [4][5][6] and facilities related to daylighting analysis [7], natural ventilation [8], energy usage behavior [9] and photovoltaics facilities [10]. It should be noted that the building sector is currently responsible for at least 40% of the total energy consumption in the European Union (EU), which makes it a strategic goal for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, responsible for the Earth global warming.…”

Computer Simulation of Temperature Distribution during Cooling of the Thermally Insulated Room

“…The thermal stability of buildings depends on both the thermal stability of the building's shell and the heat capacity of the internal structures and equipment. The heat resistance of buildings can also be significantly influenced by the appropriate thermal insulation of their walls by a suitable heat-insulating material that can reduce heat losses in winter and undesirable heating in summer [8,9]. Phase change materials can also be used as passive energy storage for building systems [10].…”