Building Technologies Program: NREL Evaluates the Thermal Thermal Performance of Uninsulated Wall to Improve the Accuracy of Building Energy Simulation Tools. Building America Technical Highlight.

摘要

This technical highlight describes NREL research to develop models of uninsulated wall assemblies that help to improve the accuracy of building energy simulation tools when modeling potential energy savings in older homes. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed models for evaluating the thermal performance of walls in existing homes that will improve the accuracy of building energy simulation tools when predicting potential energy savings of existing homes. Uninsulated walls are typical in older homes where the wall cavities were not insulated during construction or where the insulating material has settled. Accurate calculation of heat transfer through building enclosures will help determine the benefit of energy efficiency upgrades in order to reduce energy consumption in older American homes. NREL performed detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to quantify the energy loss/gain through the walls and to visualize different airflow regimes within the uninsulated cavities. The effects of ambient outdoor temperature, radiative properties of building materials, and insulation level were investigated. The study showed that multi-dimensional airflows occur in walls with uninsulated cavities and that the thermal resistance is a function of the outdoor temperature - an effect not accounted for in existing building energy simulation tools.