Impact of insulation materials and wall types of reference buildings on building energy efficiency with three methods in Çorum city

Abstract

AbstractThe improvement of energy efficiency in buildings is one of the most important factors of the energy policy of Turkey owing to its energy import, especially of natural gas. Çorum city, one of the colder cities of Turkey that uses a high amount of natural gas as fuel for heating, was selected to demonstrate the reduction in energy loss and carbon dioxide emissions of buildings and to contribute to the insulation sector in the Çorum industry. Therefore, two different methods, namely, the Turkish standard 825 and heating degree‐days, are applied in cost‐optimal methodology, using four types of traditional insulation materials, namely, standard expanded polystyrene, neopor (graphite‐added expanded polystyrene), extruded polystyrene, and stone wool, and two state‐of‐the‐art insulation materials, aerogel and vacuum insulation panels in two types of reference buildings comprising hollow brick and pumice stone walls. As a consequence of application of the Turkish standard 825 and heating degree‐days methods in the cost optimal methodology of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive with the utilization of the optimum insulation thicknesses of six types of insulation materials calculated from both the Turkish standard 825 and heating degree‐days methods at four different types of windows and one top side measure, a new methodology was developed. Results obtained from three methodologies are compared based on insulation materials and wall types.