Professional Documents
Culture Documents
4-Thermal Insulation PDF
4-Thermal Insulation PDF
4 Thermal Insulation
Introduction
Thermal insulation reduces heat loss from buildings. It can be used in both new
buildings and for retrofit in existing buildings, and is usually a low cost solution.
Adding insulation can have several benefits:
Economy and energy conservation
- reduce the size of heating plant required
- reduce annual energy consumption (and therefore environmental pollutants)
Health, aesthetics and safety
- reduce the risk of condensation and consequent mould growth
Thermal comfort
- reduce the time to heat a room up
It can also reduce the effects of high external temperatures in summer (although this
depends on the amount of solar gains).
Insulating Materials
Basic mechanisms are:
reduction of conduction (contain gases, low density)
prevention of convection (weather stripping, cavity fill)
prevention of radiation (shiny surfaces, low emissivity coatings)
Types of insulator
rigid pre-formed blocks, e.g. aerated concrete blocks
flexible materials, e.g. fibreglass quilts used in loft insulation
loose fill materials, e.g. expanded polystyrene granules
materials formed on site, e.g. foamed polyurethane injected into cavity walls
reflective materials, e.g. . aluminium foil behind radiators on external walls
Properties of insulators
The choice of insulator depends on many factors:
level of insulation provided by the material
strength of rigidity requirements
moisture resistance
fire resistance
resistance to pests and fungi
compatibility with adjacent materials
safe to humans and the environment (note asbestos was used as an insulator until its
harmful effects were recognised).
H kA ( 1 2 )
=
t
d
where d is the thickness, A is the area and (1-2) is the temperature difference across
the material under test. Conductivities for common materials are:
Material
Aluminium
Steel
Concrete (dense)
Glass
Brickwork
Softwood
Mineral wool
Polystyrene (EPS)
Foamed polyurethane board
Conductivity (W/mK)
160.0
50.0
1.4
1.05
0.84
0.13
0.04
0.035
0.025
Emissivity is the fraction of energy radiated compared to that radiated by a black body
at the same temperature.
Absorptivity is the fraction of energy absorbed compared to that absorbed by a black
body at the same temperature.
emissivity ()
0.05
0.95
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
absorptivity ()
0.2
0.9
0.6
0.3
0.9
0.9
Sky radiation
sky
air
U-value (W/m2K)
2.5
1.6
0.5
Single glazing
5.7
Double glazing
2.8
1.8
Building Regulations
The regulations are designed for:
Health and comfort
Avoidance of condensation
Energy conservation
0.25
3.3
0.45
Dwelling
0.6
0.35
R=
d
k
Rs =
1
h c + Eh r
where:
Rsi
Rso
Ra
R1 R2
R3 R4
U value =
1
1
=
R tot R si + R 1 + R 2 + R a + R 3 + R 4 + R so
Conductive heat transfer through a floor is not 1-dimensional - there is also lateral heat
transfer. Greatest heat losses occur close to the exposed edges of the floor. Table 2.6
in McMullan gives some figures for the insulation required to obtain a U-value of 0.45
W/m2K as required by the regulations.
Average U-values
Note that U-values are not additive, but that thermal resistances are.
If a wall or roof is composed of different constructions, then the overall U-value of the
wall or roof depends upon the relative areas of the different constructions.
A2,U2
A1,U1
In this case:
U average =
A 1U 1 + A 2 U 2
A1 + A 2
Tutorial Questions
Chapter 2, Questions 1 to 9 in the course text by McMullan.
Additional questions:
1. Describe the main benefits of thermal insulation.
2. Indicate what thermal conductivity (k) is, in which units k is expressed. Would k
be higher or lower for a metal compared to an insulation material?
3. What is meant by thermal resistance (R), in which units is R expressed, and how
can R be calculated for a layer of material?
4. Indicate what is meant by overall thermal resistance (Rtot) of a structure, and in
which units is Rtot expressed. Would the Rtot value of an insulated wall be higher or
lower when compared to the same wall without insulation?
5. Indicate what is meant by overall heat transfer coefficient (U) of a construction, in
which units U is expressed, and whether the U-value of an insulated wall be higher
or lower when compared to the same wall without insulation?
6. A solid layer of material consists of 0.20m concrete with a thermal conductivity of 2
W/mK. What is the thermal resistance of that layer? [0.10 m2K/W]
7. An insulated wall consists of 3 layers: 0.10m brick (k=1.0W/mK), 0.04m rockwool
(k=0.04W/mK) and 0.10m brick (k=0.5W/mK). The surface thermal resistances are:
outside surface 0.04 m2K/W, inside surface 0.13 m2K/W. What is the total thermal
resistance and U-value of the wall? [1.5 m2K/W, 0.67 W/m2K]
8. If the insulation layer of the previous wall is doubled, what will the new the total
thermal resistance and U-value of the wall be? [2.5 m2K/W, 0.40 W/m2K]
9. Calculate and compare the overall heat transfer coefficient of a 220mm thick solid
brick wall and the same wall but with an internal 40mm air cavity. [2.71 W/m2K,
1.85 W/m2]
Thermal conductivity of brick
Inside standard surface resistance
Outside standard surface resistance
Air space resistance
1.15
0.123
0.055
0.17
W/mK
m2K/W
m2K/W
m2K/W