THE USE OF TRANSPARENT INSULATION IN LOW-ENERGY DWELLINGS IN COLD CLIMATES

This article discusses the use of transparent insulation materials in low energy dwellings in cold climates. Both aesthetic and thermal issu es for the capillary type of transparent insulation material are inves tigated. In Lien (1995) granulated silica aerogel and multilayered mat erial of corrugated sheets are also presented. To investigate the aest hetic qualities of the material, a scale model study is performed. The study treats the distribution of daylight, the visual contact through the materials, and the appearance of the materials. The results show, among other things, that the capillary material spreads direct daylig ht in a cone shape and distributes it to certain areas of the door, wa lls, and ceiling of a room. The visual contact through the materials i s limited and dependent on the thickness of the material, the illumina tion situation, the distance between the observer and the material and the object observed, and the angle of direction at which the observer looks through the material. Calculations of the energy consumption fo r heating and ventilation are performed for a row house with different sizes of materials. The calculations are done for two climate zones i n Norway. The results show that energy savings in the order of 20% can be attained. The results are especially promising for the coldest cli mate zone, where the problem of overheating is small and the energy sa ving potential is still good. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.