Towards low energy building using vacuum insulation panels. Advantages and disadvantages

The increasing interest in building developments with very low energy consumption, energy-positive or passive houses has directed the attention of those involved in this area to high thermal performance insulation materials, like vacuum insulation panels (VIP). Vacuum insulation panels are part of high thermal performance insulations, which attempts to be introduced and used in the construction field. The main interest for these materials is due to their thermal properties, namely to their very low thermal conductivity (of 5 to 8 times) compared with traditional thermal insulation materials (mineral wool, extruded/expanded polystyrene). The thermal conductivity of thermal insulation widely used, hence traditional or classical insulation names, as expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), mineral wool or polyurethane foam (PUR) has typical values between 0.03 and 0.05 W/(mK). Using these types of insulations to fulfill performance envelope elements in terms of energy, leads to the adoption of an increased insulation thickness. Vacuum insulation panels may offer new solution for high performance insulation with a thickness in order of a few centimeters compared to the conventional insulation. Vacuum insulation panels can be used as independently insulation, replacing entirely the conventional ones or as additional insulation