Energy Upgrading of Basement ExteriorWalls: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Most of today’s buildings will still be in use in 2050 and upgrades should therefore contribute to reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint. This paper addresses a challenge for upgrading of basement exterior walls of single-family dwellings, where ordinary retrofit insulation can lead to the basement wall protruding from the existing outer wall. For some, this will be an aesthetic barrier for an energy upgrade (an “ugly” solution). Superinsulation may solve this challenge without compromising the energy performance. This study analyses energy, cost and carbon footprint, to identify under which conditions upgrading with vacuum insulation panels (VIP) can be a preferred solution. Three alternatives are analysed in a parametric model: ordinary upgrade with XPS (the aesthetically “ugly”), upgrade with VIP above ground and XPS below ground (the aesthetically “good”), and iii) no upgrade (the “bad”, as it does not contribute to reducing energy consumption). Results show that using VIP and XPS to perform energy upgrade of a basement exterior wall may lead to an aesthetically more pleasing solution than with only XPS, but that it will lead to higher carbon footprint and higher costs. The least favourable option is to install a drainage system without doing an energy upgrade, which will have negative impact for energy use, carbon footprint and life cycle cost.publishedVersio

Tetting av bygningskroppen ved bruk av teipprodukter

Forord.Denne rapporten oppsummerer resultatene fra kunnskapsprosjektet TightEN – Durable adhesive airtight solutions for energy effective building envelopes (2019–2023). Rapporten er et resultat av omfattende forskningsarbeid og sammenfatter resultater fra forskningsartikler, master- og prosjektoppgaver. Det overordnede målet med TightEN-prosjektet har vært å øke kunnskap om klebeløsninger til bygningsformål og deres bestandighet. God og varig lufttetthet er et viktig bidrag til å oppnå energieffektive bygg, og derfor har man i Norge stadig skjerpet kravet til bygningers lufttetthet. Tradisjonelt har man brukt klemming med klemlekter for å tette overlapp av vind- og dampsperrer og deres overganger til andre bygningsdeler som vinduer, dører, ventilasjonskanaler og gjennomføringer av rør og kabler. Imidlertid viser nyere felt- og laboratoriestudier at disse løsningene kan oppnå forbedret lufttetthet ved bruk av teip. I Norge er det vanlig å fokusere på både dampsperrer og vindsperrer for lufttetting av bygningskroppen. Disse produktene er som regel skjult bak kledning og ikke lett tilgjengelig for utskifting, og derfor må ytelsen opprettholdes over flere tiår. Rapporten fokuserer først og fremst på praktiske aspekter ved bruk av teip for lufttetting, men den gir også bakgrunnsinformasjon om luftlekkasjer i bygninger og en oversikt over produkter, krav og testmetoder. Rapporten er rettet mot prosjekterende og utførende, og viser spesielt hvilke praktiske hensyn som er viktige for å oppnå tilstrekkelig lufttetthet over tid. Vi vil takke alle involverte, forskere og studenter, men spesielt prosjektpartnerne BMI, Isola, Siga og Veidekke for deres bidrag både til finansiering og verdifull input til forskningsarbeidet. Prosjektet ble finansiert av Norges forskningsråd (nr. 294894).publishedVersion10202044

The Hybrid-Agile Design of Experiments Methodology

A DOE (Design of Experiments) is the laying out of a detailed experimental plan in advance of doing the experiment. Optimal DOEs maximize the amount of information that can be obtained for a given amount of experimental effort. The traditional DOE methodology is waterfall-type methodology implying a sequential and linear life-cycle process. The success of the experiment and usefulness of the results are highly dependent on the initial experimental setup and assumptions, and does not allow to go back and change something that was not well-documented or thought upon in the design stage. The fast-changing software development industry have made it understandable that the traditional waterfall methodology for developing systems, which follows similar patters to the traditional DOE, lacks the agility required for developing robust systems. These limitations have triggered the development of agile: a type of incremental model of software development based on principles that focuses more on flexible responses to change, instead of in-depth planning at the design stage. This paper proposes the hybrid-agile DOE methodology – a methodology that incorporates agile principles in traditional waterfall DOE methodologies – to design effective experimental layouts that allow for improvement during the experimental trial process. The methodology is applied to the natural ageing of adhesives tapes for building applications. This methodology can overcome traditional DOE, by adding agility in the whole process, especially in cases where the investigated products lack prior information and are characterised by large variability.publishedVersio

The Hybrid-Agile Design of Experiments Methodology

A DOE (Design of Experiments) is the laying out of a detailed experimental plan in advance of doing the experiment. Optimal DOEs maximize the amount of information that can be obtained for a given amount of experimental effort. The traditional DOE methodology is waterfall-type methodology implying a sequential and linear life-cycle process. The success of the experiment and usefulness of the results are highly dependent on the initial experimental setup and assumptions, and does not allow to go back and change something that was not well-documented or thought upon in the design stage. The fast-changing software development industry have made it understandable that the traditional waterfall methodology for developing systems, which follows similar patters to the traditional DOE, lacks the agility required for developing robust systems. These limitations have triggered the development of agile: a type of incremental model of software development based on principles that focuses more on flexible responses to change, instead of in-depth planning at the design stage. This paper proposes the hybrid-agile DOE methodology – a methodology that incorporates agile principles in traditional waterfall DOE methodologies – to design effective experimental layouts that allow for improvement during the experimental trial process. The methodology is applied to the natural ageing of adhesives tapes for building applications. This methodology can overcome traditional DOE, by adding agility in the whole process, especially in cases where the investigated products lack prior information and are characterised by large variability.publishedVersio

A parametric study of the energy performance and carbon footprint of super-insulation in terrace constructions

Energy requirements for buildings are continually tightened, as seen in the ambitions to introduce near zero-energy building (nZEB) requirements in Norwegian and European building codes from 2020. One consequence of this is an increased use of insulation. However, standard insulation may cause challenges in many circumstances, for example where increased wall dimensions lead to reduced daylight levels or where increased insulation leads to increased floor height. Super-insulation materials are a possible solution to these challenges. Although several super-insulation products exist on the market, there is still a need for proven system solutions that provide the required level of insulation, along with reduced thickness in the constructions. An additional challenge is that these solutions should also be cost-effective and carbon-effective. The economic benefits should outweigh the costs and the carbon footprint should ideally be reduced, but at least not significantly increased. To analyse the potential of super-insulation, we have performed a parametric case study of terrace constructions based on super-insulation and compared these with a baseline solution. The terrace construction uses vacuum insulation panels (VIP) as the main insulation. The top plate insulation is tapered mineral wool, aerogel is used in the edges and on top of the construction there are wood tiles. The parameters that have been varied are i) terrace dimensions, ii) width of the edge with non-combustible aerogel, iii) the thickness of the VIP layer, iii) the slope of the tapering, and iv) the heat conductivity of the VIP panels. To evaluate the benefits of the super-insulation an analysis of energy performance in the use phase has been done. As the energy efficiency of the super-insulation solution is improved, this gain can be used either to reduce thickness or to increase energy performance. Both these will have an impact on the costs. To evaluate the environmental performance of the solution a screening LCA has been performed, with focus on the carbon footprint. The results of the case study show under which circumstances the super-insulation solution has better performance than the baseline, and vice versa. Key parameters that drive energy performance and carbon footprint are identified, providing suggestions for further research.publishedVersio

Feasibility Study of Novel Integrated Aerogel Solutions

The market share for fibre reinforced aerogel insulation materials is expected to increase as production costs are lowered, and in this context, the development of layered products with integrated aerogel is highly interesting. The effect of uniaxial compression and humidity on the thermal conductivity of commercially available aerogel insulation blankets were measured in order to assess the feasibility of integrating aerogel blankets with other building components. The thermal performance under uniaxial compression was measured by compressing commercially available aerogel blanket materials in a heat flow meter apparatus. Up to 11.5 % decrease in apparent thermal conductivity was observed at a compressive strain of 16 %, corresponding to an applied stress of approximately 22 kPa. The thermal insulation properties of the aerogel insulation blankets remained excellent within the range of compressive stress investigated in this study (up to about 40 kPa), making aerogel integration highly interesting for building components that will be used under compression. However, a 32 % increase in thermal conductivity was observed upon exposure to an atmosphere of 95 % relative humidity (RH). Thus, in order to widen the range of application for fibre reinforced aerogel insulation materials, further investigations should be conducted to understand and improve their tolerance to moistureAcknowledgements. This work has been supported by the Research Council of Norway and several partners through “The Research Centre on Zero Emission Buildings” (ZEB).publishedVersio

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Predominant Climate Exposure Strains - Thermal Degradation Testing Compared to Historical and Future Climate Scenarios

The service life of a building or structure is often presumed to be 60 years. Products used in the building envelope are often covered by a facade material on the exterior side. Hence, the failure of these products is not easily observable, and the repair or replacement is normally not technically nor economically feasible. Thus, these products are expected to endure the entire estimated lifetime of the building. Service life prediction of these products is based on accelerated ageing tests, whose aim is to measure future possibilities of materials' durability under their expected service life. Preliminary calculations of acceleration factors are discussed and related to historical and future climate scenarios for a dataset from Calgary, Canada. The changes in temperature threshold values for this dataset is significant. Relating the measured values to a duration of a typical accelerated durability test indicates that the test duration is sufficient for a service life of 102 years according to historical climate, but only 52 years taking into account an assumed climate change.publishedVersio

Predominant Climate Exposure Strains - Thermal Degradation Testing Compared to Historical and Future Climate Scenarios

The service life of a building or structure is often presumed to be 60 years. Products used in the building envelope are often covered by a facade material on the exterior side. Hence, the failure of these products is not easily observable, and the repair or replacement is normally not technically nor economically feasible. Thus, these products are expected to endure the entire estimated lifetime of the building. Service life prediction of these products is based on accelerated ageing tests, whose aim is to measure future possibilities of materials' durability under their expected service life. Preliminary calculations of acceleration factors are discussed and related to historical and future climate scenarios for a dataset from Calgary, Canada. The changes in temperature threshold values for this dataset is significant. Relating the measured values to a duration of a typical accelerated durability test indicates that the test duration is sufficient for a service life of 102 years according to historical climate, but only 52 years taking into account an assumed climate change

Performance and Durability of Adhesive Tapes for Building Applications. From Product Documentation to Scientific Knowledge (and Back Again)

Adhesive tapes are used extensively in both new buildings and renovation projects in order to achieve airtight building envelopes and energy efficient buildings. It is important to be able to reliably predict whether these adhesive solutions are durable. In our roles as both a research institute and a national approval body for building materials, SINTEF have been performing product evaluations and testing of adhesive tapes for 10 years. During this time, we have tested the durability of more than 30 different tapes on a variety of substrates commonly used in the building industry. After systemising and analysing this data, we have gained valuable insight into the factors governing the durability of adhesive tapes for the construction market. In this paper we share our findings and discuss how we intend to utilise the new knowledge in the design of further scientific experiments in the field