An Innovative Low-Emissivity Insulation Developed in Korea

摘要

A type of low-emissivity insulation (LEI), which is a type of reflective insulation assembly, has been developed in Korea. The critical difference between LEI and conventional reflective insulations is the presence of a honey-comb structure formed from polyethylene, which serves as the core material. The thermal resistivity for LEI is almost twice as much as that of expanded polystyrene foam board and many conventional reflective insulation assemblies. As a result, the thickness of LEI required to meet building codes is less than that of many competing insulations. Low-emissivity insulation has enclosed reflective air spaces between aluminum foils which have very low emissivity. The reflective air spaces are composed of optimum-sized air cells, which are enclosed by polyethylene foam. The product development and the test results for U value will be discussed in this paper. The LEI product development involved a large number of small-scale hot-box tests. The use of LEI in building envelopes in Korea will be described. LEI is proposed as a contribution to the next generation of building insulations needed to improve building energy efficiency.