Determination and selecting the optimum thickness of insulation for buildings in hot countries by accounting for solar radiation

Determination and selecting the optimum thickness of insulation is the prime interest of many engineering applications. One of those applications is insulating buildings with an appropriate insulation. Calculations have been done for the determination of the optimum thickness of insulation for some insulating materials used in order to reduce the rate of heat flow to the buildings in hot countries. Reducing heat flow rate would reduce the electricity cost for the house lifetime. The solar energy radiation is calculated and used to calculate the solar-air temperature which is employed for the determination of the heat flow rate. Some results were obtained for a typical house in Qatar which is an example of hot area. The wallmate insulation is found to have the best performance for houses in Qatar. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.