Development of New Generation of Thermally-Enhanced Fiber Glass Insulation

This report presents experimental and numerical results from thermal performance studies. The purpose of this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between UT-Battelle, LLC and John s Manville was to design a basic concept of a new generation of thermally-enhanced fiber glass insulation. Different types of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have been tested as dynamic components in buildings during the last 4 decades. Most historical studies have found that PCMs enhance building energy performance. Some PCM-enhanced building materials, like PCM-gypsum boards or PCM-impregnated concretes have already found their limited applications in different countries. Today, continued improvements in building envelope technologies suggest that throughout Southern and Central U.S. climates, residences may soon be routinely constructed with PCM in order to maximize insulation effectiveness and maintain low heating and cooling loads. The proposed thermally-enhanced fiber glass insulation will maximize this integration by utilizing a highly-efficient building envelope with high-R thermal insulation, active thermal mass and superior air-tightness. Improved thermal resistance will come from modifications in infrared internal characteristics of the fiber glass insulation. Thermal mass effect can be provided by proprietary thermally-active microencapsulated phase change material (PCM). Work carried out at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on the CRADA is describedmore » in this report.« less