On the Retrofit of Existing Buildings with Aerogel Panels: Energy, Environmental and Economic Issues

Paola Marrone,Paolo Matteucci,Roberto De Lieto Vollaro,Marta Roncone,Claudia Guattari,Lucia Fontana,Federico Orsini,Francesco Asdrubali,Gianluca Grazieschi,Luca Evangelisti,Daniela Venanzi

doi:10.3390/en14051276

Abstract

Among the super insulating materials, aerogel has interesting properties: very low thermal conductivity and density, resistance to high temperatures and transparency. It is a rather expensive material, but incentives in the field can improve its economic attractiveness. Starting from this, the thermal behavior of a test building entirely insulated with aerogel panels was investigated through an extended experimental campaign. A dynamic simulation model of a case study building was generated to better comprehend the energy savings obtained through aerogel in terms of energy demand over a whole year. The investigation was completed by computing the carbon and energy payback times of various retrofit strategies through a life cycle assessment approach, as well as by a cost-benefit analysis through a probabilistic financial framework. Compared to conventional insulation materials, aerogel is characterized by a higher energy and carbon payback time, but it guarantees better environmental performance in the whole life cycle. From an economic-financial perspective, the aerogel retrofit is the best in the current tax incentive scenario. However, due to its higher lump-sum investment, aerogel’s net present value is very sensitive to tax deductions, and it is riskier than the best comparable materials in less favorable tax scenarios.

Highlights

The monitoring campaign was carried out during the winter, during the months of January and February 2020, and it was focused on the assessment of the thermal behavior of the studied test rooms in three different scenarios: 4. Results and Discussion
Experimental Campaign Results during the months of January and February 2020, and it was focused on the assessment of the thermal behavior of the studied test rooms in three different scenarios: Free-Floating conditions, the so-called On scenario and the so-called On-Off scenario
Free-floating conditions: Data processing in this phase mainly focused on defining is reported in Figure 6, where the internal and external surface temperatures for the the thermal waves’ phase-shift and attenuation according to Equations (2) and (3)

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Climate-changing gases (GHG), mainly produced by anthropogenic activities, are considered to be the main responsible factor for the global warming; the global average temperature has increased by about 1 ◦ C compared to the pre-industrial era [1]. Due to global warming and climate change (CC), large and densely populated areas risk becoming inhospitable [2]. At least reduce, the negative effects of climate change, it is necessary to globally modify the development model aiming at reducing GHG emissions [3,4]

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