The Safe Insulation from the Inside as a Solution to the Energy and Climate Crisis

Abstract

During the time when the European Union is facing an energy crisis, it is essential to understand ways to overcome it more easily. As one of the consuming sectors, buildings play a crucial role in improving energy efficiency. Therefore, one of the ways to fight with energy crisis and high energy consumption in buildings is insulation from the inside. This study assesses the hygrothermal performance of masonry walls with 9 interior insulation systems (mineral wool with vapor barrier, XPS, PIR, cork, expanded cork, aerogel blanket, wood fibre plates, perlite board) exposed to different external conditions in the climate chambers. Masonry walls were tested in a steady cycle with cold box temperature 18 °C and 40 % RH), a dynamic cycle that follows daily fluctuations, a dynamic cycle with rain. Also, an identical simulation of the hygrothermal process was carried out in the DELPHIN software to compare results of both testing methods. The temperature between the thermal insulation layer and the brick wall in all thermal insulation systems is approximately 7-8 hours behind the temperature of the outdoor climatic chamber. A dynamic cycle with rain simulation has a significant impact on the hygrothermal behaviour of thermal insulation systems. The study provides valuable data on hygrothermal processes in different wall insulation systems from the inside.

Keywords

• delphin
• energy consumption
• energy efficiency
• hygrothermal
• relative humidity