Vacuum insulation panels for building applications: A review and beyond

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2009.09.005

Energy and Buildings

Volume 42, Issue 2, February 2010, Pages 147-172

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2009.09.005 Get rights and content

Abstract

Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) are regarded as one of the most promising high performance thermal insulation solutions on the market today. Thermal performances three to six times better than still-air are achieved by applying a vacuum to an encapsulated micro-porous material, resulting in a great potential for combining the reduction of energy consumption in buildings with slim constructions. However, thermal bridging due to the panel envelope and degradation of thermal performance through time occurs with current technology. Furthermore, VIPs cannot be cut on site and the panels are fragile towards damaging. These effects have to be taken into account for building applications as they may diminish the overall usability and thermal performance.

This paper is as far as the authors know the first comprehensive review on VIPs. Properties, requirements and possibilities of foil encapsulated VIPs for building applications are studied based on available literature, emphasizing thermal bridging and degradation through time. An extension is made towards gas-filled panels and aerogels, showing that other high performance thermal insulation solutions do exist. Combining the technology of these solutions and others may lead to a new leap forward. Feasible paths beyond VIPs are investigated and possibilities such as vacuum insulation materials (VIMs) and nano insulation materials (NIMs) are proposed.

Section snippets

Introduction to vacuum insulation panels

Current vacuum-based insulating solutions can be subdivided into three categories: Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs), vacuum insulating sandwiches (VISs) or sheet-encapsulated vacuum insulation panels and vacuum insulating glazing (VIG) (see Fig. 1). This review deals about VIPs as a high performance thermal insulating solution for building envelopes [1]. Vacuum insulation panels can de defined as “an evacuated foil-encapsulated open porous material as a high performance thermal insulating

Thermal bridges

It is clear that VIPs cannot be seen as a material but that they have to be seen as a system of materials and properties. These have all their influence on the total thermal performance and the possible applications of vacuum insulation panels. A lot of research has been done on reducing and estimating the thermal bridging and on increasing and estimating the service life time.

The better the insulation material the higher the importance of the heat flux due to thermal bridges. In a assembly

Service life prediction for VIPs

The service life of vacuum insulation panels depends on several factors. A first important factor is the assumed definition of the service life and the assumed requirements according to this definition. Secondly, the core material will have a great influence on the service life, determining the increase of the thermal conductivity of the VIP according to inner gas pressure and water content. A last important factor is the type and the quality of the VIP envelope around the core and the

Acoustical properties of applied VIPs

The hygro-thermal properties of vacuum insulation panels have been previously discussed in Sections 1 Introduction to vacuum insulation panels, 1.1 The vacuum, 1.2 The core, 1.2.1 Physical properties of fumed silica, 1.2.2 Water vapour adsorption of fumed silica, 1.2.3 Thermal conductivity of fumed silica, 1.2.4 Fire behaviour, 1.3 The envelope, 1.4 Getters, desiccants and opacifiers, 2 Thermal bridges, 2.1 Thermal bridge effect on the scale of VIPs, 2.1.1 Thermal bridging due to VIP envelope,

Building applications of VIPs

One main benefit with VIPs is the reduction of the required thickness of the insulation layers compared to traditional thermal insulation materials in building applications due to the much lower thermal conductivity of VIPs, i.e. approximately 5–10 times lower. As a result, the necessary building insulation thickness may be decreased with a factor of 5 up to 10, which is depicted in Fig. 1 and Fig. 18. However, for the application of VIPs, one has to pay attention to certain disadvantages

Other possible high performance thermal insulating materials and solutions

Vacuum technology is only one way to achieve a high performance thermal insulating solution. As comparison, a short extension towards gas-filled panels (GFPs) and aerogels will be made. Both GFPs and aerogels are new high performance thermal insulating solutions and materials developed in the last decade, introducing new technologies or possibilities which may be useful in the development of such new high performance thermal insulation materials.

Beyond vacuum insulation panels

The reduction of the gaseous conductivity of a material using vacuum technology and low conductivity gases has meant a big leap in thermal insulation. While the traditional insulation materials developed before the 1960s had a theoretical minimum thermal conductivity equalling the thermal conductivity of air, the new developed insulation materials have initial thermal conductivities up to 10 times lower than this limit.

But also for these new high performance insulating solutions, strong

Conclusions

Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) in their current form can result in a strong reduction of energy consumption if they are properly installed. It was even proven [98] that the requirements of the Kyoto-protocol are easily met if every non-insulated building currently existing in the European Union is insulated with a layer of only 2 cm thick VIPs. However, the proper application of VIPs is problematic because of factors as fragility, no possibilities for adaptation at the building site, high cost,

Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the Research Council of Norway, AF Gruppen, Glava, Hunton Fiber as, Icopal, Isola, Jackon, maxit, Moelven ByggModul, Rambøll, Skanska, Statsbygg and Takprodusentenes forskningsgruppe through the SINTEF/NTNU research project “Robust Envelope Construction Details for Buildings of the 21st Century” (ROBUST).

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ReviewVacuum insulation panels for building applications: A review and beyond

Abstract

Section snippets

Introduction to vacuum insulation panels

Thermal bridges

Service life prediction for VIPs

Acoustical properties of applied VIPs

Building applications of VIPs

Other possible high performance thermal insulating materials and solutions

Beyond vacuum insulation panels

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

Solar Energy

Surface & Coatings Technology

Surface & Coatings Technology

Vacuum

Energy and Buildings

Applied Energy

Energy and Buildings

Energy and Buildings

Vacuum

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

VIP and their applications in buildings: a review

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Construction Materials

From Dewars to VIPs - one century of progress in vacuum insulation technology

Kinetic theory of Gases, with an Introduction to Statistical Mechanics

Evacuated insulation panels with pyrogenic silica powders: properties and applications

High Temperatures-High Pressures

Modifications of pyrogenic silica exposed to moist air

Prediction for the increase in pressure and water content of vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) integrated into building constructions using model calculations

Journal of Thermal Envelope and Building Science

Thermal conductivity of opacified powder filler materials for vacuum insulation

International Journal of Thermophysics 200

Thermal conductivity of clay-based aerogel

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

Vacuum insulation panels—exciting thermal properties and most challenging applications

International Journal of Thermophysics

Radiative Transfer

Influence of water on the total heat transfer in ‘evacuated’ insulations

Influence of water content on the thermal conductivity of vacuum panels with fumed silica kernels

Dependence of thermal conductivity on water content in vacuum insulation panels with fumed silica kernels

Journal of Thermal Envelope and Building Science

Influence of water on the total heat transfer in ‘evacuated’ insulations

International Journal of Thermophysics

Modelling of heat transfer in nanoporous silica—influence of moisture

Optimisation and testing of a VIP exterior thermal insulation composite system (ETICS)

Permeation of different gases through foils used as envelopes for vacuum insulation panels

Journal of Thermal Envelope and Building Science

Thermal bridges in vacuum-insulated building facades

Journal of Thermal Envelope and Building Science

Effective thermal conductivity of vacuum insulation panels

Building Research and Information

Analytical models for calculating thermal bridge effects caused by thin high barrier envelopes around vacuum insulation panels

Journal of Building Physics

Analytical models for calculating thermal bridge effects in high performance building enclosure

Journal of Building Physics

Numerical investigation on thermal bridge effects in vacuum insulating elements

From VIP's to building façades: three levels of thermal bridges

Vacuum insulated panels in building applications

Thermal performance of VIP assemblies in building constructions

Advanced evacuated thermal insulations: the state of the art

Journal of Building Physics

Two-dimensional heat transfer effects on vacuum and reflective insulations

Journal of Building Physics

Investigations of heat transfer in evacuated foil—spacer multilayer insulations

Journal of Building Physics

High performance vacuum insulation panel: development of alternative core materials

Journal of Cold Regions Engineering

Edge loss minimization in vacuum insulation panels

From VIP to building panel

Review
Vacuum insulation panels for building applications: A review and beyond