Rice Husk-Based Insulators: Manufacturing Process and Thermal Potential Assessment

The development of bio-insultation materials has attracted increasing attention in building energy-saving fields. In tropical and hot-humid climates, building envelope insulation is important for an energy efficient and comfortable indoor environment. In this study, several experiments were carried out on a bio-insulation material, which was prepared by using rice husk as a raw material. Square rice husk-based insultation panels were developed, considering the ASTM C-177 dimensions, to perform thermal conductivity coefficient tests. The thermal conductivity coefficient obtained was 0.073 W/(m K), which is in the range of conventional thermal insulators. In a second phase of this study, two experimental enclosures (chambers) were constructed, one with rice husk-based insulation panels and the second one without this insulation. The measures of the temperatures and thermal flows through the chambers were obtained with an electronic module based on the ARDUINO platform. This module consisted of three DS18B20 temperature sensors and four Peltier plates. Daily temperature and heat flux data were collected for the two chambers during the dry season in Panama, specifically between April and May. In the experimental chamber that did not have rice husk panel insulation on the roof, a flow of up to 28.18 W/m² was observed, while in the chamber that did have rice husk panels, the presence of a flow toward the interior was rarely observed. The rice husk-based insulation panels showed comparable performance with conventional insulators, as a sustainable solution that takes advantage of a local resource to improve thermal comfort and the reduction of the environmental impact.