Thermal insulation for energy conservation

Abstract

The use of thermal insulations to reduce heat flow across the building envelope has been an accepted energy conservation strategy for many decades. Materials available for use as building insulation include naturally occurring fibers and particles, man-made fibers, reflective systems, cellular plastics, evacuated systems, aerogels, and hybrid insulations that combine two or more types of insulation. This chapter discusses the basic theory of insulation and the way they are evaluated. Performance limitations are identified and discussion of the performance of building elements that represent combinations of insulation and other building material are contained in this chapter. The importance of air infiltration and moisture control is discussed. The language associated with thermal insulation technology and key thermal properties have been included to help the reader use the vast literature associated with building thermal insulation.