Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

In general, the poor thermal insulation of building materials usually causes elevated room temperature, which not only reduces the comfort of the environment but also adds extra loading to the air conditioner. The objective of this study is to investigate the heat insulation efficiencies of building outer skins used for green building. A total of 25 types of multi-layer cladding materials and 9 types of single-layer skin materials made in Taiwan along with 4 types of overseas multi-layer skin materials were tested using the hot box method (HBM). The above data were then adopted to calculate the heat-insulation ability, vapor transmission volume and heat gain cooling load. Besides, the costs of the above materials were also collected to provide useful information for green building industry to select the most proper skin materials in considering both the material performance and costs. The analysis results suggest that the ‘k’ group (paint-baked metal plate + 2” 100 k rock wool + paint-baked metal plate) exhibits the best heat-insulating capacity, which is 67.0%. However, Item 15 (colour corrugated steel plate + conventional steel bearing plate + calcium silicate board) presents the smallest moisture-permeable amount at 0.001 g/h. Besides, Item ‘13’ exhibits the smallest cooling load, which is 1.8 W. From the above, it is shown that superior heat-insulating performance does not necessarily mean better moisture permeability resistance. The skin material which presents superior moisture permeability resistance does not always present a higher cooling load. For this reason, the appropriate skin materials should be selected by matching with the climatic environment where the building is located. Moreover, the decrement of CO₂ emissions caused by transportation is also another key point which the green building industry should consider.

Practical application: The objectives of this research are to investigate the heat insulation efficiencies of building outer skins used in the green buildings. The heat capacity, moisture-permeable resistance, solar heat gain cooling load and costs of the building outer skins frequently used in Taiwan have been calculated and collected in this study. Therefore, the engineers and building industry can choose the most suitable materials with the help of the above information.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alajlan

Smiai

Elanie

. Effective tools toward electrical energy conservation in Saudi Arabia. Energy Conversion and Management 1998; 39: 1337–49.

Bolattu

RKA

. Optimum insulation thicknesses for building walls with respect to cooling and heating degree-hours in the warmest zone of Turkey. Energy and Buildings 2008; 43: 1055–64.

Al-Homoud Mohammad

. Performance characteristics and practical applications of common building thermal insulation materials. Building and Environment 2005; 40: 353–66.

Hasan

. Optimizing insulation thickness for buildings using life cycle cost. Applied Energy 1999; 63: 115–24.

Yoon

Lee

Krarti

. Optimization of Korean crop storage insulation systems. Energy Conversion and Management 2003; 44: 1145–62.

Al-Sallal

. Comparison between polystyrene and fiberglass roof insulation in warm and cold climates. Renewable Energy 2003; 28: 603–11.

Comaklı

Yuksel

. Optimum insulation thickness of external walls for energy saving. Applied Thermal Engineering 2003; 23: 473–9.

Dombaycı

Golcu

Pancar

. Optimization of insulation thickness for external walls using different energy-sources. Applied Energy 2006; 83: 921–8.

Bureau of Mines (BOM). Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Taiwan. Available at: http://www.mine.gov.tw/miner, 15 April, 2002.

10.

Gustafsson

. Transient plane source technique for thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity measurements of solid materials. Review of Scientific Instruments 1991; 62: 797–804.

11.

Gustafsson

Chohan

Ahmed

Maqsood

. Thermal properties of thin insulating layers using pulse transient hot strip measurements. Journal of Applied Physics 1984; 55: 3348–53.

12.

Gustafsson

Long

. Transient plane source (TPS) technique for measuring thermal properties of building materials. Fire and Material 1995; 19: 43–49.

13.

Kubicar

Bohac

. A step-wise method for measuring thermo physical parameters of materials. Measurement Science and Technology 2000; 11: 252–258.

14.

Bertoldi

. Assessment of white certificates in improving residential energy efficiency. Light and Engineering 2010; 18: 8–11.

15.

Dietrich

. Consequences of the required assessment of thermal insulation in summer for residential buildings according to the German EnEV 2009 and DIN 4108-2 to theneed of shading systems to be provided bybuilding owners. Bauphysik 2009; 31: 337–42.

16.

Aktacir

Buyukalaca

Yilmaz

. A case study for influence of building thermal insulation on cooling load and air-conditioning system in the hot and humid regions. Applied Energy 2010; 87: 599–607.

17.

Lai

Huang

Chiou

. Optimal spacing for double-skin roofs. Building and Environment 2008; 43: 1749–54.

18.

. A study on the improvement of exterior wall construction by the double walls system, Department of Architecture 2002; National Cheng Kung University.

19.

Eckert

ERG

Goldstein

. Measurements in heat transfer 1976; Washington, Hemisphere Publishing.

20.

Kubicar

. Pulse method of measuring basic thermo physical parameters 1990; Amsterdam, Elsevier Publishing.

21.

Parker

Jenkins

Butler

Abbott

. Flash method of determining thermal diffusivity, heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Journal of Applied Physics 1961; 32: 1679–85.

22.

Zollner

Winter

ERF

Viskanta

. Experimental studies of combined heat transfer in turbulent mixed convection fluid flows in double-skin facades. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 2002; 45(22): 4401–08.

23.

Zalewski

Lassue

Duthoit

Butez

. Study of solar walls – validating a simulation model. Building and Environment 2002; 37 (1): 109–21.

24.

Pasquay

. Natural ventilation in high-rise buildings with doubles facades, saving or waste of energy 2001; 18th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Brazil.

25.

Yang

Chien

. The covered envelope materials of building consume energy and analyze. The Architecture and Building Research Institute (ABRI), Taiwan 2000 (in Chinese).

26.

Chen

. Analysis of mechanics materials (in Chinese) 1993; Purpose-Driven book co Taipei, Taiwan.

An analysis of heat insulation efficiency of building outer skins used for green building

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References