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Building Science II

L e c t u r e 5
Thermal Insulation

Thermal Insulation

Source: www.archiexpo.com/prod/actis/product

• Purpose: reduces heat transfer through

building envelope
• 2nd thermodynamic law :
Heat flows from warmer space to cooler space
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Need of Insulation

Key benefits:
(1) Provides more comfortable, productive and
livable structure
(2) The effects of moisture condensation and air
movement are minimized

Results in (1) lower maintenance costs

(2) increased structure longevity
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Insulation (Insulator)
• Minimizes transfer of heat energy from one
material to another by reducing (1) conduction,
(2) convection (3) radiation effects

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Insulation (Insulator)
Air and gas as “insulation material”

Source: www.nachi.org/window-gas-fills.htm

Principle of Insulation
• Less dense materials are better insulator.
• The denser the material, the closer its atoms
are packed together.
• Gases insulate better than liquids & solids.

Source: www.ppgresidentialglass.com
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Insulation (Insulator)

• Materials are “thermal insulants” if

coefficient thermal conductivity ‘k’ is
less than 0.065 W/mK
• insulating materials have very low ‘k’
value.

Relationship between
 thermal conductivity and density 
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Source: www.alpkit.com/support/stickies/what-is-goose-duck-down

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Source: www.tmasc.ca/st-geneve-down-fillings.html

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Thermal performance of buildings

• Takes in account heat losses, energy necessary

for cooling
• For heat losses, performance depends on :
U or R values of different building parts.

In the West, heat loss means higher energy

bills

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Thermal Bridge
• Thermal bridge is an area of
object which has significantly
higher heat transfer (U-value)
than surrounding materials
resulting overall reduction in
thermal insulation.

• Framing members and structural

ties (especially metal or masonry) Source: www.massinfrared.com

can form thermal bridges , greatly

enhance heat exchange
processes between inside and
outside wall surfaces.

• Occurred at wall junction with

floor, roof or windows.
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Thermal Bridge
• Poorly designed aluminium or any metal
window frame.
for example, can pass more heat than the
entire area of the double glazing it holds

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Thermal Bridge

Source: www. beodom.com, 2008

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Thermal Bridge: Effects

• Significantly increase winter heat loss and

summer heat gain.
• Pattern staining of surfaces and serious
damage to building components.
• Interior surface pattern staining (deposition
of dirt, mold growth, occurs on the inside
surface).

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Thermal Bridge: Effects

Infrared thermography
shows leaking balcony
caused by a thermal
bridge

source: infratec.de

Risk of mould formation

and condensation

Source: www. beodom.com, 2008

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Fixing Thermal Bridge

Prevention of Thermal bridge on balconies or terraces

Source: www.schoeck.co.uk
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Fixing Thermal Bridge

Associate polystyrene hard foam for the thermal
break and stainless steel to maintain structural
integrity.

Source: www. beodom.com, 2008

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Thermal Insulation Techniques

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Wall Insulation

• First line of defense against harsh weather /

climate in built environment
• This separating envelope will, to some extent,
regulate the indoor conditions
• Keep temperature differential between interior
and exterior
• Effective in insulation if increase in thickness
and density
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Wall Insulation

• Cavity wall is prevailing in the

temperate countries
• Air is sandwiched between two
leaves of wall
• To improve the heat
insulation efficiency, the
cavity can be filled with other
materials of low U value and
high R value.

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Cavity Wall: UK Experiences

• Mineral Wool - cotton wool like material
produced from either rock wool or glass wool,
and is used in the majority of installations.
• Polystyrene Bead - made up of small expanded
polystyrene beads normally injected with a
binder.
• Urea Formaldehyde (UF Foam) cavity wall
insulation was introduced into the UK in the late
1960's and involves the injection of a water
based chemicals system that produces an
insulating foam in the cavity.

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Solid Wall

• Solid walls lose more heat than cavity walls

• To reduce heat loss is to insulate them on the
inside or the outside.
• This will help :
(1) create more even temperature,
(2) help prevent condensation on the walls and ceilings
and
(3) can also reduce the amount of heat building up inside
during summer hot spells (year round in the tropics).

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External Wall Type

• Adding a decorative weather-proof insulating

treatment to the outside of the wall.
• The thickness of the insulation needs to be
between 50 and 100mm
• Installed where there are severe heating
problems or the exposed surface exterior of the
building requires some form of other repair work
providing the opportunity of adding insulation

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Internal Wall Type

• Insulated by applying internal wall insulation.

• Ready made insulation/plaster board
laminates or wooden battens in-filled with
insulation or flexible linings
• Insulation / plaster board laminates usually
consist of plasterboard backed with insulating
material typically to a total thickness of up to
90mm.
• The construction of the laminates reduces the
amount of heat which would otherwise pass
through into the wall and outside

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Basic Principle of Wall Insulation

• Cavity walls with 50mm air space between the

two layers reduce heat transmission and
enhance insulation

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Trombe Wall
• The wall material is separated by a 50 to 100 mm
air gap from an external glazing.
• Heat is trapped by the glazing and the air heats up.
Vents at the bottom and top of the wall allowing air
movement. Thus, hot air is distributed to the room
(convection).
• At night-time, the wall reduces heat losses.

Source: www.the-green-house.net/passive-solar-energy
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Trombe Wall

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Trombe Wall

(Source: Liu, Z., et al. 2018)

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Heat Transfer Process

Heat problems in Malaysia:
-High indoor temperature.
-Thermal comfort & health issues.
-High mechanical cooling loads.
-Heat waste and CO2 disposed by air-conditioning.

Heat transfer processes

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Roof Insulation

(1) Attic ventilator

(2) Fiberglass/wool
(3) Foam Board
(4) Radiation barrier
(5) White roof surface

(1) get rid of the hot air by trapping heat inside attic
(2) & (3) trap heat within interstitial void spaces
(4) and (5) reflect heat away

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Roof Insulation

• Radiant Barrier is a reflective foil sheet that

works differently than insulation but has a similar
impact.
• The effectiveness of a radiant barrier depends
on its emissivity, which should be less than
0.1.
• The shinier, the better the insulation.

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Roof Insulation
• All foil used in the roof insulation is thin,
conduction effect is negligible.
• Installed under the roof deck
• Cut the amount of heat that radiated from the
hot roof to the ceiling below
• Shiny side should face downwards for best
performance.

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White Roof Surface

The white surface reflects much of the sun's

heat and stays much cooler than a typical roof

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Fenestration Insulation

• Consider about Window and Door to improve R

values
• Double glazing works by trapping air between
two panes of glass creating an insulating barrier
that reduces heat loss, noise and
condensation.
• Apply efficient glazing systems consist of
multiple-glazed panes filled with a low-
conductive gas such as argon or krypton.

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Fenestration Insulation

• Radiant transfer allows heat to move from a

warmer body to a cooler body.
• When the sun shines through glass and into the
interior of the building. For glazing that will
receive radiant heat, Low-emissivity (low-E)
coated glass can be used.
• Low-E coated glass has a transparent metallic
oxide material applied, which is able to reflect
up to 90% of long-wavelength heat energy.

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Heat Loss & Gain

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Heat Loss and Gain

• Concern energy consumption and efficiency

• Energy conservation pays attention to building
heat loss or gain

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Heat Loss

• Critical in cold winter months

• As energy bill is more than 80% of the total
during winter months: Not much an issue in tropic
climate
• Prevent cold/hot air loss (air conditioner/heater)
• Sealed leakages / holes

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Heat Loss Factors

• Insulation Material of building

R-value
• Expose area bigger, more loss
• Service efficiency
• Temperature differential/gradient
• Air change rate
• Ventilation and wind
• Pattern of uses
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Calculation of Heat Losses

(1) Fabric heat loss: Through materials of

wall or window or roof or floor when
there is temperature difference

(2) Ventilation heat loss: loss of warm air

and its replacement by air to be heated
up (Natural means: airflow through open
windows, cracks structures)

Note: Ignore radiative heat process

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(1) Fabric Heat Loss (heat transfer)

Fabric heat loss

Pf  U  A  T

Pf = Fabric heat loss (W)

U = U-value (W/m2/K)
A = area (m2)
dT = temperature difference (in and out) K
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(2) Ventilation Heat Loss

C  N  V  T
PV  V
3600
PV = ventilation loss (W)
CV = volumetric specific heat capacity of air
(c x r) (J/m3/K) = 1300
N = air change per hour (AC/hour)
V = volume of the room (m3/AC),
as volume per air change
dT = temperature difference (in and out) K
3600 = number of seconds in an hour

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Heat Loss / Heat gain

Calculations

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Example 1
A simple building is 4m long by 3m wide by 2.5m
high. In the walls there are two windows, each 1m
by 0.6 m, and there is one large door 1.75m by
0.8m. The construction has the following U-value
in W/m2 K: windows 5.6, door 2.0, walls 2.5, roof
3.0, floor 1.5. The inside environmental or comfort
temperature is maintained at 18°C while the
outside air temperature is 6°C. The volumetric
specific heat capacity of the air is taken to be 1300
J/m K. There are 1.5 air change per hour.

Calculate the total rate of heat loss from the

building under the above conditions.

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Step 1 – Sketch the building with

dimension

4m
3m
Inside temperature = 18°C

Outside temperature = 6°C 2.5 m

1.5 air change per hour Two windows One door

1m x 0.6m each 1.75m x 0.8m

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Step 2 – Tabulate fabric heat

losses
Element U-value Area (m2 ) Temperature Rate of heat
(W/m2 K) difference loss (W)
(°C)
Windows 5.6 1.2 12 80.64
Door 2.0 1.4 12 33.6
Wall 2.5 35 - 2.6= 32.4 12 972
Roof 3.0 12 12 432
Floor 1.5 12 12 216
Total rate of fabric heat loss 1734.24W
Using Formula Pv = U A Δt
Pv = rate of fabric heat loss (W ),
U = U-value of element (W/m2 K),
A = Area of element (m2)
Δt = temperature different (°C)

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Step 3 – Calculate ventilation heat

loss
• Cv = 1300 J/m2 K, N = 1.5 h
• V = 4 x 3 x 2.5 = 30 m3, Δt = 18 - 6 = 12°C
Using
Pv = Cv N V Δt
3600
= 1300 x 1.5 x 30 x 12
3600
= 195 W
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Step 4 – Total heat loss

• Total rate of heat loss = fabric heat loss +

ventilation heat loss
= 1734.24 + 195
= 1929.24 W

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Tutorial Question 2
A banquet hall has internal dimension of 11m x 4m x 3m
high. 10% of the wall area is glazed and doors have a
total of 6 m2. The construction has the following U-value
in W/m2 K : windows 6.5, door 2.5, walls 1.6, roof 1.5,
floor 0.8. The inside environmental or comfort
temperature is maintained at 17°C while the outside air
temperature is -5°C. The volumetric specific heat
capacity of the air is taken to be 1300 J/m K. There are 5
air change per hour. The heat gains total of 1800 W.

Calculate the net rate of heat loss for the building under
the above conditions.

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Step 1 – Sketch the building with

dimension

11 m
4m
Inside temperature = 17°C

Outside temperature = -5°C 3m

5 air change per hour windows One door

10% of wall area 6 m2

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Step 2 – Tabulate the rate of fabric

heat losses
Element U-value Area (m2 ) Temperature Rate of heat
(W/m2 K) difference loss (W)
(°C)
Windows 6.5 90 x 10% = 9 22 1287
Door 2.5 6 22 330
Wall 1.6 90–9–6 = 75 22 2645
Roof 1.5 44 22 1452
Floor 0.8 44 22 774.4
Total rate of fabric heat loss 6488.4 W

Using Formula Pv = U A Δt
Pv = rate of fabric heat loss (W ),
U = U –value of element (W/m2 K),
A = Area of element (m2)
Δt = temperature different (°C)
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Step 3 – Calculate the ventilation

heat loss

• Cv = 1300 J/m2 K, N = 5 h
• V = 4 x 11 x 3 = 132 m3, Δt = 17-(-5) = 22°C
Using
Pv = Cv N V Δt
3600
= 1300 x 5 x 132 x 22
3600
= 5243.33 W

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Step 4 – Total heat loss

• Total rate of heat loss = fabric heat loss +

ventilation heat loss – heat gain
= 6488.4 + 5243.33 – 1800
= 9931.7 W

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Sensible Heat & Latent Heat

https://steemit.com/science/@badet/how-phase-change-materials-pcm-works

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Categorization of
Phase Change Materials (PCMs)
Phase change material (PCM) is a substance which releases/absorbs
sufficient energy at phase transition to provide useful heat/cooling.

(Kalnaes & Jelle, 2015)

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Daily PCM transition cycle

(Al-Yasiri & Szabo, 2021)

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Phase Change Materials (PCMs)

1) PCMs commonly use in latent heat thermal storage (LHTS) systems.
2) Store passive solar and other heat gains as latent heat within a specific temperature range,
3) Reduce energy usage, increase in thermal comfort by smoothing out temperature
fluctuations throughout the day and a reduction and/or shift in peak loads.

(Al-Yasiri & Szabo, 2021)

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PCM filled window in its liquid state Zero energy office Kempen, Switzerland
(Kalnaes & Jelle, 2015)

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Hybrid PCM wall

(Al-Yasiri & Szabo, 2021)

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PCM-incorporated conventional bricks

(Al-Yasiri & Szabo, 2021)

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PCMs Integrated in Building Walls for Energy Saving

(Cui et al., 2015)

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