Thermal insulation gypsum plaster was prepared from flue gas desulphurization (FGD) gypsum. K12 is more recommendable as foaming agent, when the mass fraction of K12 is around 0.1 %, the setting time and compressive strength meet the requirements of gypsum-based construction materials. In the meanwhile, the thermal conductivity is 0.18 W m −1 K −1 , which can be used as a thermal insulation material. The hemihydrate mixtures obtained, allow the design of a new wall structure, which is more efficient as a thermal insulation system. The wall heat transfer coefficient test was carried out to compare thermal performance of two different thermal insulation systems. Compared with the thermal performance of a conventional system, the heat transfer coefficient of the new system was reduced by 5.6 %. Finally, energy-saving analysis of a building was carried out to compare the energy-saving effect of the conventional and new systems of building. The energy-savings of the building with the new system increased by almost 2 %, thus resulting in low energy consumption of the building.