Reliability of Interior Thermal Insulation as a Retrofit Measure in Historic Wooden Apartment Buildings in Cold Climate

Cool roof effectiveness in improving building thermal-energy performance is affected by different variables. In particular, roof insulation level and climate conditions are key parameters influencing cool roofs benefits and whole building energy performance. This work aims at assessing the role of cool roof in the optimum roof configuration, i.e., combination of solar reflectance capability and thermal insulation level, in terms of building energy performance in different climate conditions worldwide. To this aim, coupled dynamic thermal-energy simulation and optimization analysis is carried out. In detail, multi-dimensional optimization of combined building roof thermal insulation and solar reflectance is developed to minimize building annual energy consumption for heating–cooling. Results highlight how a high reflectance roof minimizes annual energy need for a small standard office building in the majority of considered climates. Moreover, building energy performance is more sensitive to roof solar reflectance than thermal insulation level, except for the coldest conditions. Therefore, for the selected building, the optimum roof typology presents high solar reflectance capability (0.8) and no/low insulation level (0.00–0.03 m), except for extremely hot or cold climate zones. Accordingly, this research shows how the classic approach of super-insulated buildings should be reframed for the office case toward truly environmentally friendly buildings.

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Efficient Thermal Insulation of Passive House with Curved Façades in Cold Climate

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/20167302003 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 73 ◽

pp. 02003

Author(s):

Askar Aznabaev ◽

Ivan Pshuk ◽

Daria Likhaia ◽

Semen Bondarenko ◽

Kirill Gureev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Insulation ◽

Cold Climate ◽

Passive House

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Selected Problems of Renovated Apartment Buildings Entrances in Slovakia

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.649.117 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 649 ◽

pp. 117-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Katarína Minarovičová ◽

Dušan Dlhý

Keyword(s):

Thermal Insulation ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Apartment Buildings ◽

Plumbing Systems ◽

Building Environment

During the last decades, only a little attention has been given to the design and renovation of the entrances to residential buildings. Given underestimation of the problem in the design has resulted in a negative impact on both indoor building environment and aesthetics of the building. Recently, together with the renovation of external walls claddings (by application of additional thermal insulation and replacements of windows and doors) and upgrading and modernizing the installations services such as heating and plumbing systems, also the entrance construction components finds their place in the renovation process. This article analyses the problems connected with renovation of building entrances and summarizes information about the current efforts in engineering and architectural praxis.

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Risk of Using Capillary Active Interior Insulation in a Cold Climate

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14216890 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (21) ◽

pp. 6890

Author(s):

David Antolinc ◽

Katarina Černe ◽

Zvonko Jagličić

Keyword(s):

Thermal Insulation ◽

Freezing Temperature ◽

Cold Climate ◽

Moisture Profile ◽

Central Eastern Europe ◽

Water Condensation ◽

Steady State Model ◽

Heritage Buildings ◽

Thermal Insulations ◽

Continental Climate

The retrofitting of cultural heritage buildings for energy efficiency often requires the internal thermal insulation of external walls. Most of the in situ studies of capillary active interior insulation were performed in mild oceanic climate regions, and they showed an excellent performance. However, as a large part of Central–Eastern Europe belongs to a continental climate with cold winters and long periods of temperatures below the freezing temperature, the applicability of the capillary active interior insulation in cold climate was studied. The hydrothermal behaviour of the three walls was determined—each consists of one of three different interior insulations—and the original wall is made of historic regular solid bricks. Two interior thermal insulations were capillary active (aerated cellular concrete, calcium silicate) and one vapour-tight (glass foam). A hot box–cold box experiment and a steady-state model were used to demonstrate an increase in the original wall mass due to the water condensation only when the capillary active interior insulation is used. The combination of the water condensation and the low sub-zero temperature may lead to a risk of freeze–thaw damage to the original wall. The numerical simulation of the water vapour condensation for the considered walls for the Slovenian town Bled with sub-zero average winter temperatures was performed to obtain the whole temperature and moisture profile. It showed good agreement between an experimentally and numerically obtained amount of water condensation. The capillary active interior insulation proved to be unsuitable for improving the thermal insulation of buildings in cold continental climate, and only a vapour-tight system can be recommended.

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Influence of Thermal Design performance of Envelope structure on Indoor Thermal Environment in Dry-Hot and Dry-Cold areas

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/201913605009 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 136 ◽

pp. 05009

Author(s):

Chen Jie ◽

Luo Zhixing ◽

Yang Liu

Keyword(s):

Thermal Insulation ◽

Thermal Environment ◽

Internal Surface ◽

Cold Climate ◽

Thermal Design ◽

Experimental Investigations ◽

Thermal Mass ◽

Single Family ◽

Traditional Architecture ◽

Different Seasons

Thermal performance is considered to be a key measure in building sustainability. One of the technologies used in the current building sustainable design is the high thermal mass techniques. The application of this type of technology is widely used in traditional architecture. The paper aims at studying the effect of both high thermal insulation and high thermal mass techniques in buildings dynamic behaviour in Dry-Hot and Dry-Cold Climate. The two techniques can lead to conflicting requirements when considering winter and summer conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to identify insulation measures that conserve the mass dynamic behavior. Experimental investigations were carried out on a single - family house to characterize the behavior of one room with high thermal mass in different seasons. Thermal simulations made it possible to explore different retrofit configurations. Different thermal mass and thermal insulation were compared on internal surface temperature. The analysis shows that the most suitable intervention is both high thermal insulation and high thermal mass techniques, and the decrease of the absorption coefficient of the outer surface is beneficial to improve the overall level of solar radiation.

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Fire Safety of Apartment Buildings Fabricated from Glued Sandwich Panels Compared with the more Frequently Used Structural Systems

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.861.104 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 861 ◽

pp. 104-111

Author(s):

Marie Rusinová ◽

Jiří Šlanhof

Keyword(s):

Thermal Insulation ◽

Fire Safety ◽

Building Construction ◽

Substantial Part ◽

Structural Systems ◽

Financial Indicators ◽

Polyurethane Adhesive ◽

Load Bearing Capacity ◽

Apartment Buildings ◽

Standard Construction

At present, the trend in new building techniques is to move towards light construction systems, and efforts are also being made to use such techniques with multi-storey buildings. It is a characteristic of the Light Building construction system that a substantial part of the structure of a building is made up of thermal insulation, and heavy and wet processes are eliminated. The article focuses on the options for the use of a specific new technique which utilizes the advantages of large-format construction panels composed of 15 mm thick wood chipboard cladding glued using a polyurethane adhesive directly onto rigid thermal insulation, which is most frequently made from façade polystyrene. No other reinforcement is used. The consistency and load-bearing capacity of the panels are exclusively provided by the gluing of the insulation to the cladding using a polyurethane adhesive. The contribution focuses on the prospects for the use of this interesting technique from the aspect of the fire safety of apartment buildings; so far it has only been used for family homes. The contribution also contains a comparison of construction-related technical and financial indicators of use of this technique with standard construction systems employed for timber structures and also with traditional ceramic masonry from the viewpoint of the fire resistance of individual structures.

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Energy Renovation of Residential Buildings in Cold Mediterranean Zones Using Optimized Thermal Envelope Insulation Thicknesses: The Case of Spain

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12062287 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 2287 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Luis M. López-Ochoa ◽

Jesús Las-Heras-Casas ◽

Luis M. López-González ◽

César García-Lozano

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Thermal Insulation ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Cold Climate ◽

The European Union ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Climate Zones ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Zero Energy Buildings

The residential sector of the European Union consumes 27% of the final energy of the European Union, and approximately two-thirds of the existing dwellings in the European Union were built before 1980. For this reason, the European Union aims to transform the existing residential building stock into nearly zero-energy buildings by 2050 through energy renovation. The most effective method to achieve this goal is to increase the thermal insulation of opaque elements of the thermal envelope. This study aims to assess the energy, environmental and economic impacts of the energy renovation of the thermal envelopes that are typical of the existing multi-family buildings of the 26 provincial capitals in the cold climate zones of Spain. To achieve this goal, the insulation thickness to be added to the walls, roof and first floor framework is optimized by a life cycle cost analysis, and the existing building openings are replaced, thus minimizing both the total heating costs and the total heating and cooling costs. The study uses four thermal insulation materials for four different heating and cooling systems in 10 different models. The results obtained will be used to propose energy renovation solutions to achieve nearly zero-energy buildings both in Spain and in similar Mediterranean climate zones.

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Evaluation of Thermal Resistance of the Military Sleeping Bags

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1117.299 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1117 ◽

pp. 299-302

Author(s):

Iveta Abele ◽

Igors Sitvjenkins ◽

Kalev Kuklane ◽

Ausma Vilumsone

Keyword(s):

Thermal Resistance ◽

Thermal Insulation ◽

Extreme Temperature ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Cold Climate ◽

Intensive Use ◽

Complete Sets ◽

The Military ◽

Optimal Set

Military sleeping bags are envisaged for intensive use during military actions. They have extra properties that provide protection for military staff. In cold climatic conditions when sleeping bags are used for rest soldiers’s combat ability and survival depends on the thermal insulation properties of material technical resources (gear) and clothing.Aim of the research is to establish the extreme temperature of military sleeping bags and military uniforms complete sets, to find the optimal set and define conformity to NATO AECTP-230 “Climatic conditions” cold climate categories C0 – C1.

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