ARET 222 GALE

Comparing Insulation Materials in a Kamloops Residential Home

Recently BC has publicized a Climate Action Plan that is designed to significantly reduce the amount of Green House Gas emissions by 2020. By Increasing the quality of insulation in residential design this decreases the amount of energy consumption, therefore reducing the amount of green house gas emissions. Recently engineers have been investigating Vacuum Insulated Panels in building envelope design. Compared to other insulation materials Vacuum Insulated Panels have a thin profile and a large R value of about 30R per inch. That is around 6 times more than the average insulation material. With this new technology moving forward it leads to the question how will Vacuum Insulated Panels compare to other conventional insulation materials in a residential house in Kamloops BC?

Vacuum Insulated Panels, also known as VIPs, are constructed with a tight core consisting of an insulated material such as Polystyrene or fumed silica that is encased with metallic or Mylar foils than applied with a vacuum to extract any remaining oxygen. They are commonly used in refrigerators and vending machines. Conforming to the applied research part of this report a simple house designed for Kamloops BC will be examined using various insulation types within the exterior walls and roof. There are three opposing types of standard insulations that will be taken into account. These include batt fibreglass, spray-on cellulose, and extruded polystyrene rigid board all which have an average thermal resistance value of 3.0 – 4.3R per inch. Batt insulations are usually designed with a layer of foil or paper that act as a moisture barrier. Spray-on cellulose is generated from recycled newspaper treated with chemicals to increase its fire rating potential. Extruded polystyrene rigid insulation is a foam board with a closed cell structure designed to increase the moisture resistance. Each insulation type will be examined and compared with Vacuum Insulated Panels. Data will be collected to determine the better suited material for the Kamloops climate.

The research will focus mainly on cost effectiveness. Calculations for each wall will include material cost, energy savings, and building footprint size. Durability, resistance to air movement, resistance to high/low temperatures, and fire-ratings are factors that will also be examined in the report.

With environmentally sustainable design on the rise designers are seeking insulation methods that are becoming more apparent to achieving low emissions. At the present time VIPs are new to building construction and are still being researched. They are a fairly expensive investment, but with progress the future of insulation could be Vacuum Insulated Panels.

Vacuum insulated Panels maintain an R value of around 30 R/in. Other types of Insulation that I plan to compare and their R values per inch include:
• Batt Fibreglass - 3.0 -3.7 R/in
• Loose Fill Mineral Fibre - 2.8 - 3.7 R/in
• Rigid Fibreglass board insulation - 4.2 – 4.5 R/in
• Wet – Spray cellulose insulation - 3.0 – 3.7 R/in

http://www.vip-bau.de/e_pages/technology/vip/advantages.htm

Today I received a response regarding installation of VIPs from Panasonic, a manufacturer. The email said that in Japan the panel itself is actually embedded into foam board and then installed in standard stud construction. This helps keep the VIP secure from getting punctured by nails, also increases the R value.

I have spent a couple days searching for ways to install VIPs into a wal, so far no luck. I have contacted Panasonic who is designing them for the Harmony House, an upcoming project in vancouver, and hopefully I receive some good feedback so I can add some more detailed posts.

The conversation a VIP would have with Fiberglass insulation if they could talk!
The cartoon expresses some advantages and disadvantages of Vacuum insulated panels.

I came across a website that incorporated VIP panels into a house. It was a competition and they could only have so many square feet. Using VIPs in the walls made the floor area of the house larger. I thought you might enjoy the picture. Check out the website there are plans and sections of the house as well.
http://greenlineblog.com/2009/11/solar-decathlon-2009-thin-vacuum-insulated-panels/

I was brainstorming on how to write my thesis statement and this is what I came up with:
'How will Vacuum Insulated Panels compare to other conventional insulation
materials in a residential house in kamloops BC.'

What do you think? Any comments, opinions, or ideas on how I could improve this sentence would be awesome.

So I’m sure you are all wondering what vacuum insulated panels are. Well here’s a little breakdown of their components.

Vacuum insulated panels, also known as VIPs, are constructed of a tight core consisting of an insulated material such as Polystyrene, Polyurethane, Titania, or fumed Silica. The core is encased in layers of metallic or mylar foil that help provide a tight envelop. Maintaining a vacuum tight seal is what creates the high ‘R’ value. A VIP may have an R value of 30 per inch thickness, which for a piece of insulation is well above code requirements.

I hope this description has given you an idea, I will be posting photos and original graphics to show more.

The past couple of years British Columbia’s government has been focusing on energy savings and net zero designs. Through research I plan to prove whether wall designs incorporating vacuum insulated panels are feasible in the Kamloops region.

Purpose:
To compare vacuum insulated panels with other commonly used insulation products.
• Which one is more cost effective?
• Over time will there be any health risks?
• How will each respond to colder climates?
• How long will they last?
• How much maintenance is required?

Goals and Objectives:

My goal throughout the project is to introduce a different insulation material to exterior walls in a design for a residential home located in Kamloops BC. By completing this study I hope to develop results that clearly show which insulation is best suited for the area. If my conclusions show positive results towards energy efficiency in vacuum insulated panels, I hope to persuade architects and designers to incorporate vacuum insulated panels in their designs.

Methodology and Analytical approach:

I plan to base my research on whether vacuum insulated panels are cost effective and practical for residential construction.
I will design a basic single family residential home on Foxtail Dr. located in the Aberdeen area and incorporate vacuum insulated panels. The house will have two wall options incorporating two different insulations:

1.) A basic standard batt insulation, and
2.) Vacuum insulated panels.

Research will be done to compare advantages and disadvantages of the two wall constructions, calculate the inboard/outboard thermal resistance ratio and calculate energy consumption in the residential home over time. Examination of the insulation panels will be done to determine the materials used, and how each work together to create a high thermal resistance. The cost of installation and materials will be examined as well.

Plans for Dissemination of work:

Throughout the year I will conduct extensive research and data collection to create a technical report that will answer my question of whether incorporating vacuum insulated walls in Kamloops is feasible. I will include Revit drawings to show the design of the house, and wall details to illustrate how the insulation is placed. I will also create an updated blog that will contain elements of my research.

Conclusion:

According to the city of Kamloops website, the average person consumes 42.3 GJ of energy in their home annually. By researching vacuum insulated panels I hope to develop results that will help reduce the amount of energy consumed.