Composite insulating materials as a tool for the reduction of cooling loads

2005 
A considerable potential exists for energy conservation in buildings, by means of reducing the heating loads and especially the cooling loads. This necessity emerges strong, given the fact that internal loads are continually increasing, due to the propagation of electric and electronic appliances. In that sense, insulating materials are the most powerful tool for the designer and the constructor to achieve high energy efficiency in buildings by improving the buildings’ shell thermal protection and hence control the transmissivity of the shell. Nowadays, a significant number of modern insulation materials can be met in European market; they are characterized by their very low thermal conductivity factor and good overall performance in terms of physical properties. The most widely used materials are extruded polystyrene and stone wool. However new trends in the construction industry led the market to solutions that are easily applicable and workable, particularly suitable for renovation of existing buildings, having the advantages of adaptability and low environmental impact. In this environment the Aristotle University Thessaloniki together with the University of Athens, the insulation materials’ production company FIBRAN S.A. and the buildings’ construction company, TETRAS O.E. studied the possibilities of a new series of integrated composite insulating products based on stone wool designed for application in existing and new buildings. The composite materials based on stone wool maintain the advantages of the main material, i.e. high thermal and acoustic efficiency and competitive cost, whilst they aim at compensating the two major drawbacks i.e. low resistance to vapor diffusion and low resistance under mechanical stress. This is achieved by a combination with other materials, as well as by a different orientation of the material’s fibres. The latter is based on corrugated fibres resulting in higher mechanical strength properties.
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