Dynamic insulation systems of building envelopes: A review

Dynamic insulation is a promising approach that allows the heat transmission rate through building envelopes to vary in a controlled manner over time. Dynamic insulation's primary function is to change the transmissivity of the building envelope according to the actual outdoor conditions. It is applicable in almost any climate condition. The fundamental contribution of this review paper is to collect and assess available literature on this topic for different dynamic insulation structures. Therefore, this article classifies the background of dynamic (active) insulation and offers a comparative investigation of the various mathematical models, experimental studies, and numerical simulations based on the historical evolution of thermal insulating strategies over time. Several existing structures for dynamic insulation realised by airflow were categorised based on the construction type, examined parameters, and investigation approaches. Some literature results revealed that low heat loss (U < 0.1) down to practically zero could be achieved by employing a dynamic insulation air type. Moreover, the associated energy savings could reach more than 40% compared to building envelopes with a static insulation alternative. The proposed evaluation will provide basic knowledge about the development and capabilities of dynamic insulation using air and identify potential research areas to pursue. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

Dynamic insulation is a method that allows the heat transmission rate through building envelopes to vary over time. This paper collects and assesses literature on different dynamic insulation structures and compares mathematical models, experimental studies, and numerical simulations. The results show that dynamic insulation can achieve low heat loss and significant energy savings.