Interior insulation using super insulation materials: saving energy and space

Paper in proceeding, 2020

Interior insulation can be used in buildings where the exterior characteristics may not be altered due to cultural heritage protection. This is common for many buildings in Sweden from the period before 1941. Energy efficiency, thermal comfort and building performance are all affected by an interior insulation. Super insulation materials present novel opportunities to save both energy and space. The aim of this study is to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of using super insulation materials as interior insulation. A field study building was investigated for feasibility, which, together with interviews with professionals in the field of architecture, cultural heritage and building consultants, give a general overview. In conclusion, there are both benefits and drawbacks with interior insulation. Super insulation provides increased flexibility in terms of interior detailing and possibility to preserve characteristic elements. On building level interior super insulation could reduce the energy use by up to 20%. This gives energy savings of 0.5 TWh on national level and a reduction of 0.7% of the total CO2 emissions for heating the Swedish building stock. A drawback is that there are few examples and little experience from building with super insulation materials among both architects and other decision makers.