Comparative performance evaluation of conventional and renewable thermal insulation materials used in building envelops

Abstract

In the past decades, insulation materials such as petrochemical and inorganic have been used for building insulation. The production of these insulation materials consumes a large amount of energy, which has a significant effect on the environment throughout the life cycle. Comparative performance analyses of renewable (natural) insulation materials for building application in terms of their impact on the environment, the useful lifetime, cost, insulation performance, thermal diffusivity water vapor resistance and flammability were analyzed using statistical tools. It was found that renewable insulating materials have competitive performances with traditional nonrenewable materials in terms of heat insulation performances, fire resistance and cost. Also it was found that renewable materials have significantly better performances such as less impact to the global warming, longer useful lifetime, and lower thermal diffusivity.