Dynamic insulation

DYNAMIC INSULATION MATERIAL

Material where the thermal conductivity can be controlled within a desirable range.

DYNAMIC INSULATION
Its a form of insulation where cool outside air flowing through the thermal insulation in the envelope will pick up heat from the insulation fibers. The overall heat transfer coefficient is no longer constant. It varies with the speed of air flowing through the insulation.

Permeable walls
Dynamic insulation requires permeable walls such that when building is depressurized air can flow from outside to inside through the insulation. This type of Dynamic insulation is mainly used in cold climate where main energy use is for heating

conventionally insulated air-tight wall

Dynamic insulated wall

DYNAMIC INSULATION
As air flows inwards, it picks up the heat that is being conducted outside by the insulation glass. It serves two purposes: 1. Reduces the heat loss. 2. Pre-warmed air is pumped indoor.

Mechanical ventilation
Dynamic insulation requires a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. For example for air to be drawn continuously through the walls a fan is needed to hold the building at a pressure of 5 to 10 pascals below the ambient pressure.

SCIENCE OF DYNAMIC INSULATION

consider an ideal case of one-dimensional steady state heat conduction and air flow through a uniform sample of air permeable insulation. distance x measured from the cold side of the insulation.

GOVERNING EQUATION

u =air speed through the insulation (m/s) Ca= specific heat of air (J/kg K) a =density of air (kg/m3) a =thermal conductivity of the insulation(W/m K)

GOVERNING EQUATION
Boundary conditions 1. T(x)=TO at x=0 2. T(x)=TL at x=L

TEMPERATURE PROFILE

air flowing through a slab of cellulose insulation 0.2 m thick in which one side is at a temperature of 20 C and the other is at 0 C

TEMPERATURE GRADIENT
Temperature gradient as a function of x:

Temperature gradient at x=0:

Temperature gradient at x=L:

Heat transfer coefficient

The overall heat transfer coefficient is given by:

Dynamic u value:

Air speed u, (mm/s)

0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1.0

Temp gradient at x/L=0 (C/m) 100 41.8 14.6 4.49 1.26 4

Conductive heat loss (W/m2) 0.2 1.672 0.584 0.1796 0.0504

Udyn (W/m2 K)

0.084 0.029 0.009 0.003

Disadvantages
On the warm side of the insulation the temperature gradient gets steeper with increasing air flow. the insulation at 1mm/s the temperature gradient on the warm side of the insulation x/L = 1) is 621 C/m which compares with only 100 C/m for the conventional insulation. Specifically a space heating system six time larger than that for a conventionally insulated house would be needed

Disadvantages
For a vertical internal surface this thermal resistance has a value of 0.13 m2 K/W.[6] In a dynamically insulated wall. As the conduction heat flow into the wall increases then so does the temperature drop across this internal thermal resistance increase. The wall surface temperature will become increasingly colder.

Temperature drop:

Temperature drop

Air speed u,(mm/s)

0 0.25 0.5

Temperature drop across the air film (C)

0.52 1.02 1.69

0.75
1.0

2.44
3.23

Dynamic insulation materials

Insulations such as polyurethane (PUR) boards, which due to their micro-structure, are not air permeable are not suitable for dynamic insulation. Insulations such as rock wool, glass wool, sheep's wool, cellulose are all air permeable and so can be used in a dynamically insulated envelope

Air control layer

The maximum depressurization for a dynamically insulated building is normally limited to 10 Pa in order to avoid doors slamming shut or difficulty in op The function of the air control layer in a dynamically insulated wall or ceiling is provide sufficient resistance to the air flow to achieve the required pressure drop at the design air flow rate.

Air control layer

The permeability of a material to air flow, , (m2/hPa) is defined as the volume of air that flows through a cube of material 1m X 1m X 1m in one hour

A area of material through which air flows (m2) L thickness of material through which air flows (m) V' volume flow rate of air (m3/h) P pressure difference along the length L of material (Pa)

Measured Air Permeability of Building Materials

Material Plasterboar d Thermal block Fibreboard Pumalite Cellulose / wet blown Cellulose / dry blown 850 870 Density (kg/m3) Permeability (m2/hPa) 1.06x10-5 1.6x10-5 1.34x10-3 0.036 Component 12 mm sheet 100 mm block 12 mm sheet 100 mm block Permeance( m3/m2hPa) 8.81x10-4 1.6x10-4 0.116 0.36 Pressure Drop1 (Pa) 1140 526 8.6 2.8

47
65 28

0.283
0.25 1.8

200 mm
150 mm 140 mm

1.50
1.67 13.0

0.67
0.60 0.08

Sheep's wool

Design of a dynamically insulated building

Assume a house of 100 m2 floor area with a dynamically insulated ceiling. air change rate for good air quality. 2.4m height,100 square meter area, lets say in one hour the entire volume of air must be replaced, we have air flow rate of 240m3/hr. Next the material for the air control layer is chosen to provide a suitable air flow rate at the chosen depressurization, taken as 10 Pa in this case

Design of a dynamically insulated building

For a 12mm thick sheet of fiberboard this gives, for the maximum pressure difference of 10 Pa, an air flow rate of 1.12 m3/h per m2 of ceiling. This is equivalent to an air speed through the ceiling of 1.12 m/h or 0.31 mm/s.

Design of a dynamically insulated building

Dynamic insulation works best with a good thickness of insulation so taking 200 mm of cellulose insulation (k = 0.04 W/m C). The value of U= 0.066 W/m2 C. Design of a mvhr with an air flow rate of 128m3/h.

Thermal Insulation Materials used in eco-renovation

Heat loss through building elements

Building feature Walls 35 Heat loss(%) Target U-value 0.15 Possible solutions Cavity, internal or external wall insulation Double/triple/seco ndary glazing/shutters and curtains Pitched, warm deck or cold deck roof insulation Floor insulation Draught proofing

Windows and doors 15

1.6

Roof

25

0.10

Floor Gaps, cracks , draughts

15 10

0.15

Depth of insulation required to reach a U-value of 0.15W/m2K

Material Depth Expanded polyurethane 130 mm

Unfaced polyurethane
Rockwool (60 100kg/m3) Glassfibre slab Expanded polystyrene Mineral wool Flax Cork board Glass fibre quilt Cork slab (160kg/m3) Woodwool board Cellular sheet glass Foam glass (140kg/m3) Cork slab (140kg/m3) Foam glass (130kg/m3)

160 mm
195 mm 205 mm 215 mm 225 mm 230 mm 240 mm 240 mm 250 mm 250 mm 280 mm 305 mm 325 mm 330 mm

Most climate friendly insulation materials

Material
Cork slab (300kg/m3) Cork slab (160kg/m3) Cork board Woodwool board Flax Recycled loose cellulose Glassfibre quilt Rockwool Glassfibre slab Cork board Rockwool (60kg/m3) Expanded polystyrene Rockwool (100kg/m3) Cellular sheet glass Foam glass (140kg/m3) Foam glass (130kg/m3) Mineral wool Expanded polyurethane Unfaced polyurethane

Embodied carbon (kgCO2e)

-155 -70 -65 -35 -5 -1.9 3 7 8 9 13 15 20 28 30 31 38 160 175

Approximate cost per cubic meter

Material/product Recycled loose cellulose (Warmcel) Expanded Polystyrene Board (Jabfloor 70) Woodwool (NOVOLIT) Price 11.67 13.56 33.33

Black Mountain sheeps wool

Rockwool quilt Mineral wool slabs Woodwool (HERAKLITH) EPS Jablite Polystyrene Sheet Cork sheet Hemp Steico Canaflex Woodfibre batts (Steico Flex) PIR (Celotex XR4000) Woodfibre batts (NaturePro) PUR (Kingspan Thermawall TW50) Woodfibre Board (Steico Therm) Hemp batts (Black Mt) Woodwool KOMBIVOL

46.66
53.81 56.91 59.33 75.52 80 81.28 106.89 117.93 127.74 151.54 176.66 317.98 330

Properties of some Organic materials commonly used in insulation

Material Sheeps wool batts and rolls Wood fibre batts K-value(W/mK) 0.038-0.043 Notes Can absorb some moisture whilst remaining efficient Good for most walls, ceilings , roofs Best for horizontal surfaces

0.038-0.043

Cotton-based batts and rolls Cellulose Cork board

0.038-0.043

0.038-0.040 0.042-0.050

Recyclable, renewable Commonly used as underlay under hardwood Good for wall and pitched roof construction Relatively expensive

Wood fibre board Hemp batts

0.080 0.043

Reference
http://www.superhomes.org.uk/resources/wh ats-best-insulation-material/