Thermal performance evaluation and comfort assessment of advanced aerogel as blown-in insulation for historic buildings

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Building and Environment, Volume 122
Author(s): Elena Lucchi, Francesca Becherini, Maria Concetta Di Tuccio, Alexandra Troi, Jürgen Frick, Francesca Roberti, Carsten Hermann, Ian Fairnington, Giulia Mezzasalma, Luc Pockelé, Adriana Bernardi
Research and development of cost-effective, high-performance thermal insulation materials for the construction sector has to be focused on their final application. In particular, solutions for refurbishing historic buildings, which represent 40% of the European building stock, have to offer a good compromise between environmental quality, energy efficiency and conservation aspects. In this paper, the experimental assessment of an insulation material based on aerogel technology, recently developed in the European project EFFESUS, is presented with regard to the material's thermal performance, compatibility with historic fabric and reversibility. The overall results obtained in laboratory testing on a real-size mock-up and in a real-world case application indicate that the new material is a promising solution for retrofitting historic buildings, thanks to its thermal properties, easy application, reversibility and material compatibility.