Selection of Insulation Materials and Insulation Performance with Consideration of Building Energy when Designing a Building

Abstract

Building designs should be reviewed from the aspects of both design aesthetics and energy performance. The installation of insulation materials in external walls, roofs, and floors is a basic method that could reduce energy losses from buildings. The purpose of this study is to investigate the types of insulation materials selected as building materials and the insulation performance of each building elements when designing new buildings in South Korea. The insulation performance of the external walls, roofs, and floors of buildings were compared with the insulation criteria of the Energy Saving Design Standards of Buildings in building energy code. The design documents, as well as drawings and building energy saving plan sheets, which are required to be submitted for buildings larger than a certain size in South Korea, were collected. The most widely used insulation material in multi-family housings and non-residential buildings was extruded polystyrene (XPS). The insulation performance of external walls, roofs, and floors were higher than that established by design criteria of building energy code. In particular, the external walls had roughly a 25.5% better insulation performance than the insulation criteria.