Impact of Wall Constructions on Energy Performance of Switchable Insulation Systems

Remy Carlier, Mohammad Dabbagh and Moncef Krarti
Additional contact information
Remy Carlier: Department of Electromechanical, Systems & Metal Engineering, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
Mohammad Dabbagh: Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Moncef Krarti: Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-19

Abstract: This paper evaluates the potential energy savings when switchable insulation systems (SIS) are applied to walls of residential buildings located in Belgium and other locations in Europe. The study considers two low-energy prototypical dwellings (an apartment and a detached house) that are representative of post-2010 constructions and renovations in Belgium. Using an 3R2C-based analysis tool, the performance of both dwellings is evaluated with static and dynamic wall insulation systems. First, the switchable insulating system is described along with its associated simple 2-step rule-based control strategy. Then the modeling strategy and simulation analysis tools are presented. In Belgium, it was found that SIS-integrated walls allow energy savings up to 3.7% for space heating and up to 98% for cooling. Moreover, it was found that to further reduce the energy consumption of SIS-integrated buildings in various European climates, thermal mass placement needs to be considered. By optimizing the placement and the parameters of the various wall layers, it is possible to increase the space heating savings by up to a factor of 4 and those of cooling by up to a factor of 2.5.

Keywords: energy efficiency; residential buildings; walls; switchable insulation systems, two-step controls; variable R-value; wall construction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/6068/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/6068/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:22:p:6068-:d:447925

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().