Thermal Insulation Advantages And Disadvantages

Introduction

In a world of increasing energy costs accompanied by a scarcity in energy sources, the need for energy conservation is currently a major challenge. For this purpose, it became trending to use Thermal Insulation in building. The need for this technique is essential specifically in hot climate countries to conserve the great amount of energy required for cooling and air conditioning purposes, while the same applies in cold climates where the need to prevent heat loss and conserve the energy required for heating prevailing. It is also an efficient way to increase the building life and appreciate its value.

What is Thermal Insulation?

Thermal Insulation is simply about reducing the process of heat transfer between objects or areas

How Thermal Insulation Works

The purpose of thermal insulation is to act as a resistance to the heat flow through the material being used for insulation, which should normally be poor conductors to act as good insulators. The basic principle is to enclose non-moving air as much as possible in the material structure while satisfying the required structural stability.

The insulating materials resist the transfer of heat occurring through one - or a combination of – specific mechanisms, namely conduction (direct transfer of heat through solids), convection (transfer of heat through fluids) and/or radiation (transfer of heat through space by electromagnetic waves).

 Insulation from Conduction: this process basically depend on using a poor conductor material as an insulator between different objects to minimize heat transfer. Insulation between two solids, gas and solid and between liquid and solid requires replacing the material in between the two elements to prevent heat from flowing.

 Insulation from Convection: through convection, the heat is transferred through the motion of the fluid. Insulation in this case is accomplished through preventing the fluid motion or protection against

Plants in thick layers can also act as wind shields.

Types of Thermal Insulation Implementation

The thermal insulation technique is basically implemented through three main mechanisms, namely external, internal or core thermal insulation.

 External thermal insulation: this is a technique where the whole building is encompassed with thermal skin, which is composed of an insulating layer, reinforced layer, and final coating. External thermal insulation is recognized as the most preferred type of thermal insulation implementation.

 Internal thermal insulation: this type is mostly preferred to be used during renovations since it causes no problems regarding historic buildings conservation or other civil rights. However, there are some drawbacks of this technique because it leads to over-cooling in winter and over-heating in summer.

 Core thermal insulation: this type is based on having a cavity wall where the insulating material is inserted and either entirely or partially filling the cavity. This type of thermal insulation is usually used in new buildings and