Installation Demonstration and Performance Evaluation of Composite Foam-Vacuum Insulation Boards in an Occupied Building

Conference · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 2019

OSTI ID:1606991

Biswas, Kaushik ^[1]; Desjarlais, Andre Omer ^[1]; Atchley, Jerald ^[1]; Gehl, Anthony C. ^[1]; Smith, Douglas ^[2]; Letts, John ^[3]; Yao, Jennifer ^[3]; Hubbard, Mike J. ^[3]; Glowner, Russell K. ^[3]

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1. ORNL
2. NanoPore, Inc.
3. Firestone Building Products

This article summarizes the installation demonstration of R25 composite insulation boards containing polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam-encapsulated modified atmosphere insulation (MAI) panels. The R25 boards can achieve a thermal resistance of 25 hr-ft2-°F/Btu within 2 inches of thickness (or R12/inch). MAI represents a lower-cost version of vacuum insulation panels (VIPs). The R25 composite boards were developed by the project team consisting of a foam insulation manufacturer, a vacuum insulation manufacturer and a research organization. R25 boards were used to retrofit a section of a low-slope roof. For comparison, adjacent roof sections were retrofitted with two layers of 2 inch regular PIR foam boardsThe retrofit installation was performed by professional roofing contractors and some weight-related issues were identified. In a follow-on discussion within the project team, mitigation methods were proposed. The long-term thermal performance of the R25 and regular PIR foam boards are being monitored using temperature and heat flow sensors installed above and below the insulation layers. Preliminary data analysis results are presented here.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1606991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English