Thermal insulation materials in architecture: a comparative test study with aerogel and rock wool

Area of Science:

• Building Science
• Materials Science
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Thermal insulation is crucial for reducing building energy consumption.
• Historical review of insulation materials and current technological advancements.
• Need for competitive and sustainable insulation solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a historical perspective on building insulation materials.
• To analyze current insulation technologies and their performance.
• To compare the energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness of aerogel-enhanced insulation versus rock wool.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of thermal insulation materials.
• Comparative analysis of insulation values for various products.
• Energy loss and gain simulation using Revit-2019 software.
• Building cost analysis for different insulation types.

Main Results:

• Nanotechnology-based thermal insulation materials exhibit lower thermal conductivity.
• Aerogel-added insulation demonstrated 8% savings in cooling loads compared to rock wool.
• Higher initial investment costs associated with aerogel insulation were noted.

Conclusions:

• Aerogel-enhanced insulation offers superior energy efficiency, particularly in cooling loads.
• The high initial cost of advanced materials like aerogel requires further economic consideration.
• Future research should focus on developing new composite insulators by combining suitable materials for competitive and sustainable solutions.