[Greenbuilding] Vacuum insulated panels -- case studies (Norman Feldman)

[Ross Elliott]

VIPs are okay in small doses but pretty expensive (at least last time I
checked) for large areas, and if someone pokes a hole in it the R-value goes
down to about 1. Also they come in certain sizes and can't be cut, so
"fillers" of much less insulating materials need to be used in non-standard
gaps. But it's a relevant topic for this listserv, since in green building
sometimes there are thermal bridges (like around windows) that can't be
effectively insulated any other way.

Ross 


 
Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 22:24:04 +0000
From: Norman Feldman <nfeldman at fountainhouse.org>
To: "greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org"
	<greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org>
Subject: [Greenbuilding] Vacuum insulated panels -- case studies
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<756D3668F7FA0D4F87B1525276217C0501AF88D6 at FHEXCH02.fountainhouse.org>
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Two studies of VIP panels. They probably don't make sense for single family
homes; I'm not sure how relevant to this listserv. The first case study has
pictures of panels being installed between what look like they might be 1/2"
x 1" studs. 

My experience was with the renovation of a six story steel building in
Manhattan built in 1965 and used by a program I belong to. It has
uninsulated block walls with plaster applied to the inside of the block. We
were planning replacement of a 150 ton heating and cooling plant. I'd argued
that it would be better to make thermal improvements to the building in
order to rightsize, install the smallest possible plant, which would save on
first cost and operating expense over the system's projected twenty to
thirty year lifetime. Since the block and plaster walls didn't have a hollow
cavity to pump insulation into the choices were: a) fir out a 4" to 8"
cavity to pump insulation into with studs against the existing inner walls,
which would have meant losing space around the edge of each floor; b) glue
VIP panels to the walls and lose less space; or c) don't insulate, buy a big
heating and cooling plant.


New building in Munich
http://www.va-q-tec.com/muenchen_en,20210.html
Building Physics Award 2005 & German Energy Efficiency Award 2009
The new building is located in a prominent area in Munich. In the centre of
Munich for example in the Seitz street, the property value per m? is
expensive and the space is limited. So a conventional insulation thickness
of 25-30 cm is not economically reasonable for a low-energy building. A
conventional insulation of 25 cm would take 125 m? more space in a building
like this, that equals 10% of the useable area in the building. That's why
vacuum insulation panels of the va-Q-tec AG have been attached to the
external walls. 

That was the first time vacuum insulation panels were used in a big
building. By the application of 2 cm VIP and 8 cm protection and covering
material, it was possible to reach the insulation values of the passive
house, without the loss of valuable living area.

Existing chapel building in Edinburgh
http://www.va-q-tec.com/edinburgh_en,20211.html