ORNL’s Thermal Insulation and Buildings Materials Research
for Next-Generation Buildings
ORNL
provides state-of-the-art buildings envelope research through internationally
recognized experts using modern test facilities at the Buildings Technology
Center (BTC), a DOE National User Facility. Accomplishments to date have been
numerous, yet the need for ongoing research in this area continues, since space
heating, cooling, and ventilation account for 35% of energy consumption for
buildings (29% for commercial and 41% for residential). In a recent study of
deployment of energy-efficient technologies in commercial buildings, more than
$1.5 billion annually was saved from use of three such technologies alone. In
addition, energy-efficiency innovations in home building have resulted in substantial efficiency improvements over the last 20 years.
Nevertheless, homes built in the last 10 years consume more energy than those
built in the previous three decades, resulting in the ongoing need to pursue
energy-efficient solutions for buildings.
The
buildings construction industry is notable for its slow acceptance of new
technologies. The industry is highly fragmented, which contributes to the
market’s resistance to adopting new technology. R&D investments represent
less than 1% of sales revenues, far less than the average
New Calculator and Simulation Tools
ORNL
has developed an arsenal of building design and simulation tools and standards
that assist practitioners—ranging from homeowners to architects— in selecting
energy-efficient envelope options. Some recently developed tools include:
·
WUFI-ORNL – More than 2400 licensed building design
professionals are using this tool to determine moisture problems, reducing
callbacks and health-related problems with indoor air quality (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/btc/apps/moisture/index.html).
·
ZIP-Code Calculator – This tool provides location-specific
advice on insulation and moisture control to the more than 500 people who visit
this site daily (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/calculators/index.html).
·
Roof Radiation Control Calculator – computes the potential
energy savings and peak demand for various roof selections (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/calculators/index.html).
·
Other frequently used tools include the Air Leakage
Calculator (based on research data collected from sources such as the air
leakage tester pictured above), Whole-Wall Calculator, and WeatherFileAnalyzer
– a unique tool that can develop the exterior hygrothermal load for any
Moisture
Control and Hygrothermal Performance Studies
This
research emphasizes mitigating and preventing mold, which degrades the
performance of insulation and can lead to poor air quality and health problems
in high-performance buildings.
·
ORNL is collaborating with the city of
Development
and Testing of Advanced Materials for Insulation and Roofs
This work focuses on developing
building and roofing materials with extraordinary properties for insulation and
solar radiation control.
·
Insulation: ORNL has
worked with several industrial partners in testing and developing foam that is
blown with several non-ozone-depleting chemicals. This research has supported
industry in the transition to more environmentally acceptable insulation
materials for walls, roofs, refrigerators, and freezers. Quantifying
performance on unbounded loose-fill attic insulations helped improve
·
Roofs: New
cool-pigmented roof colors employ complex organic color pigments, termed cool
roof-color materials (CRCMs), that are added to roof
paints. These pigments improve thermal performance by making a dark roof
reflect in the near-infrared portion of the spectrum, maintaining a lower roof
temperature and reducing heat leakage. Several metal roofing manufacturers have
incorporated CRCMs in new painted metal products at an additional cost of only
5 cents per square foot with a payback period of only 3 years.
Challenges and
Opportunities
Research
that supports the next generation of buildings includes:
·
Designing
advanced thermal insulation and materials technologies to support Net Zero
Energy Buildings. Smart roofs and exterior walls incorporate temperature-sensitive
polymers that provide an artificial surface overlaying conventional roof tiles
and wall cladding and stucco. These
materials provide high reflectivity to the sun’s radiation during hot seasons
and low reflectivity during cool seasons.
Energy savings for roofs is from 5 to 10 cents per square foot when
compared with the best available roofing material.
·
Developing an
R-25, 4-inch wall system for on-site construction. Such a system
would double the R‑value of current wall systems.
·
Pursuing
advanced computer modeling tools to simulate hygrothermal responses to various
external climate conditions. Extended capabilities for measuring
hygrothermal properties of insulation materials would be used to develop and
publish a database of materials properties.
·
Improving the
building envelope to shave and shift peak-demand energy requirements. Such
technological breakthroughs would enable building envelopes to contribute for
the first time to electric reliability.
·
Using advanced
modeling tools to specify materials with optimum property requirements for
sheathing and cladding systems and then achieving these materials through
appropriate component selection.
Contact: Andre Desjarlais, email: desjarlaisa@ornl.gov