Thermal characterisation of Composite Insulation Panels using a vacuum insulated core

Composite Insulation Panels (CIPs) are used in building envelopes due to their thermal insulation properties, lightweight, aesthetics and ease of production and installation. In this paper, an advanced thermal insulation core material (vacuum insulation) with a thermal conductivity of 5-8 mWm-1K-1 has been investigated as core material for enhancing the thermal insulation performance of CIPs. Results revealed a significant reduction in heat loss and improvement in thermal performance of the vacuum insulation compared to that of the conventional extruded polystyrene (XPS) core material. It was determined that the CIP with a vacuum insulation core had a thermal transmission of 0.38 Wm-2K-1 compared to 0.78 Wm-2K-1 for XPS core of equivalent thickness at the centre of the panel. This represents a 51% reduction in heat loss through the vacuum insulated CIP.