Theoretical and experimental thermal performance assessment of an innovative external wall insulation system for social housing retrofit

Abstract

The UK building stock, being amongst the oldest in the developed world, is also one of the least energy efficient and accounts for approximately 45% of UK carbon emission. Energy use from housing alone was responsible for 13% of total UK carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. Therefore, achieving the national target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 against 1990 baseline conditions is highly dependent on the reduction of energy consumption in dwellings. The complexity of the problem of retrofitting energy saving measures in the extensive and diverse aging housing stock is further compounded due to the number of 'hard to treat' properties that comprise over 40% of homes in the UK. In this article, the authors present an evaluation of the theoretical and experimental performances of a novel prototype external wall insulation system, developed to improve energy efficiency in 'hard to treat' housing. The system was designed to be primarily used to retrofit social housing, which comprises up to 18% of the current UK housing stock.A thorough testing regime was undertaken to test the suitability and effectiveness of the new product in the most common social housing construction typologies. This included: an investigation of the theoretical thermal performance of the prototype product through steady state modelling, a laboratory based prototype test, an analysis of empirical data collected from a cross section of social housing properties in Nottinghamshire, UK used to inform whole house dynamic modelling, and the development of dynamic simulations to assess the energy and carbon reduction impacts of the new product. The theoretical modelling suggested that the integration of the system resulted in thermal performance improvements for all construction types with space heating demand reduced by up to 42%. The results of the whole house dynamic modelling assessment also suggested that the addition of the system resulted in a reduction of heating energy demand of up to 49%. The prototyping testing shown that the system is easy to install requirement minimum building skills.The findings suggest that the new product not only meets the performance of existing external wall insulation systems, but also provides unique selling points with respect to easy installation and non-reliance on weather conditions. The project finished with a pilot study when one house was retrofitted using the novel product.

A Critical Review on Optimization of Cold-Formed Steel Members for Better Structural and Thermal Performances

“…Moradibistouni et al [143] used a life cycle assessment approach to find the most effective level of insulation with a focus on the effect of the national energy profile in New Zealand. Some researchers investigated the optimization of insulation layers, such as finding the optimal thickness of insulation materials [143,175], making use of new insulation materials [48], or innovative insulation systems [179].…”

Learning and Energy-efficient Renovation of Residential Buildings: The user Perspective

“…The results point out, as a consequence of this important interaction, the occupants' behaviours can change the strategy of choosing the envelop material types. Rodrigues et al (2018) make as assessment of an innovative external wall insulation system for social housing retrofit in Nottinghamshire, UK. Their article suggests that gaining a better understanding of the occupants' impact on the energy consumption, is an important part of their study.…”

Uygulamadaki Dış Duvar Tiplerinin Enerji Performansı Açısından Karşılaştırmalı Analizi

“…When the studies that deal with the issue of external walls in terms of energy are reviewed, it is seen that there are many studies on improving the energy performance of the existing building stock (Valancius, Vilutiene, & & Rogoža, 2018;Matthew & Leardini, 2017;Lassandro & Di Turi, 2017;Biseniece, ve diğerleri, 2017;Rodriguesa, White, Gillott, Braham, & Ishaque, 2018;Liu, Liu, Ye, & Liu, 2018;Xu & Liu, 2018;Poortinga, Jiang, Grey, & Tweed, 2018). Usta compared the insulated and non-insulated walls in terms of energy efficiency according to TS825, since the thermal insulation plays a very important role in the energy efficiency of the building in the usage phase of the wall cross-section (Usta, 2009), Erbil and Akıncıtürk, on the other hand, evaluated the thermal comfort conditions in a mass housing built with a tunnel formwork system, using a survey, thermal camera and TS825 calculation method, and concluded that thermal insulation had to be compulsory (Erbil & Akıncıtürk, 2006).…”