A Comprehensive Review and Recent Trends in Thermal Insulation Materials for Energy Conservation in Buildings

Amir Ali, Anas Issa, Ahmed Elshaer

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In recent years, energy conservation became a strategic goal to preserve the environment, foster sustainability, and preserve valuable natural resources. The building sector is considered one of the largest energy consumers globally. Therefore, insulation plays a vital role in mitigating the energy consumption of the building sector. This study provides an overview of various organic and inorganic insulation materials, recent trends in insulation systems, and their applications, advantages, and disadvantages, particularly those suitable for extreme climates. Moreover, natural and composite materials that can be used as a low-cost, thermally efficient, and sustainable option for thermal insulation are discussed along with their thermal properties-associated problems, and potential solutions that could be adopted to utilize natural and sustainable options. Finally, the paper highlights factors affecting thermal performance and essential considerations for choosing a particular insulation system for a particular region. It is concluded that the most commonly used insulation materials are found to have several associated problems and there is a strong need to utilize sustainable materials along with advanced materials such as aerogels to develop novel composite insulation materials to overcome these deficiencies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8782
JournalSustainability (Switzerland)
Volume16
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024

Keywords

  • building energy conservation
  • buildings
  • composite insulation
  • sustainable materials
  • thermal insulation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science (miscellaneous)
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Comprehensive Review and Recent Trends in Thermal Insulation Materials for Energy Conservation in Buildings'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this