Analysis of the effects of aerogel insulation on the thermal performance of existing building envelopes

Hard-to-treat buildings, dwellings in particular have a significant impact on overall building energy consumption. With approximately five million hard-to-treat dwellings in the United Kingdom, their impact on energy and climate change policy due to their poor energy performance cannot be ignored. This research aimed to develop a solution to reduce the impact of these dwellings by integrating high performance aerogel insulation into the existing hard-to treat building envelope. The suitability of silica aerogel as a potential insulation material for 'hard-to-treat‘ existing walls was first examined followed by an analysis of the effects of its impact on existing building envelopes‘ thermal performance. The methods employed in this research involved a combination of field and laboratory testing in order to determine physical properties of the material as well as the suitability of material combinations to form a wall component. Computer simulation software was used to determine the performance of the developed aerogel component on 'hard-to-treat‘ walls; with the data used to generate the computer simulations being derived from field and laboratory tests. The results of these tests and the subsequent computer simulations have shown that, in many cases, application of the aerogel component satisfies current regulatory requirements for existing walls but also, some of the simulation data suggests benefits with regard to interstitial and surface condensation. In broad terms, the aerogel component has been shown to be significantly advantageous in improving the overall thermal performance of existing 'hard-to-treat‘ walls.This research forms the result of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Edinburgh Napier University, A Proctor Group Ltd and the Technology Strategy Board, now known as Innovate UK