CHAPTER 4

Heat Control Technology of Building

Envelopes
4.1 Insulation Building Envelope Planning for Zone V
4.1.1. Purpose and Keypoints of insulated Building Envelope Planning
1. Controlling amount of energy used for heating

The purpose of insulation building envelope planning is to control heat

transfer at the boundary between interior and exterior. i.e building envelope.
Heating a large area is possible with less cost and energy
Two types of energy found in the house obtained from Solar Radiation (Solar
Heat Gain) and energy generated from Daily activities (internal heat gain)

2. Maintaining Natural Room Temperature

The higher the insulation level, the greater the room temperature compared to the
outside door temperature (insulation can maintain a higher room temperature).

3. attemp to equalize surface emperature of walls, floors and windoes with room
temperature.

Generally, thermal sensation perceived in living space is an average of

surface temperature of sorrounding windows, wallsm floor and other
elements (meant radiant temperature) an room temperature as shown below:

Simply ricing air temperature doesnot achieved sufficient warmth within the
hime. It is necessary to attempt to equalize the surface temperature of walls
and other sorrounding to the room and reduce the temperature between
thermal sensation and the room temperature by insulating the house.

4. . Increasing temperature around the feet

Even whem the room is heted, it is not comfortable if occupants feel warm
around the upper area of the room but their feet are cold.
Reinforcing the insulation performance of floor (i.e installing insulation and air
leakage prevention)increase the floor surface temperature and reduce the
vertical temperature gradient and temperature irregulalrity within the house.

5. Increasing solar shading heat from roof to reduce heat in upper floor rooms.
Reinforcing roof and ceiling insulation prevents solar radiation heat received on
the room from entering the house and reduces the heat in the upper floor rooms
However, a roof cavity (at least 30 mm) is requires if the roof is insulated and
attic ventilation is required if the ceiling is insulated.

Skillfully combining the andvanced insulation technology (opening with high

insulation performance) with cross ventilation and solar shading methods in
summer and in between seasons, we can maximize comfort brought from
nature.

4.2 Energy Conservation Target Levels for Insulated Building Envelope

Plannig.
1. Definition of target levels

2. How to achieved target levels

3. Target Housing construction methods

There are two housing construction methods discuss here:
a. Average conventional timber frame house
b. Tradisional conventional timer frame house(typical example: mud plasster
wall)

4.1.3 Steps for examining insulation building envelope planning and setting target
levels

2. Confirming lifestyle orientation and other condition and setting target level
1) desired thermal environment

2) Energy cost efficiency resulting from increased insulation level

If condition suh as the house plan, way of living , heating and cooling system and its
operating hours are exactly the same, even a low level insulation is definitely
effective in energy and cost saving. The effect is higher as the heating duration and
heating area are becomes larger.
3) Initial cost due to increased insulation level
The average rise in initial cost due to increased insulation level is shown in Fig.9

High insulation leve does not result in cost saving?

Because:
a. When house is insulated, occupants leave indoor space open
b. Use of whole building airconditioner that exceed the need of occupants

4.1.4 Examining Insulation Planning

1. selecting insulation method:
a. Insulation method of wooden house: interior insulation and exterior insulation
(refers to the insulation method)
Interior insulation: insulation install between the structured material such as pillars
and stud, rafter and beams.
Exterior Insulation: insulation install on the exterior side of the frame and structure.

2. Distribution for each building component

1. Evenly distributed insulation type
Energy conservation standard stipulate the insulation standard by component (i.e
required heat resistant value and thickness of insulation) as a guideline for design
and installation. The insulation standard by component is established by taking into
account the balance of the insulation performance of each component (referred to
as evenly distributed insulation type)
2. Partially reinforced insulation type
For example, if installation of thick insulation material in exterior wall if impossible
or difficult, reinforcing the insulation of other component than exterior wall will
reduce the insulation requirement of the exterior wall.

4.15 Examining Insulation Technology

1. Examining insulation technology for building envelopes
1) Types and characteristic of insulation materials are as shown below
Major type of insulation material are shown below:
a. Batt insulation
Batt insulation refers to fiber insulation materials such as glass wool or rock wool.
This insulation material is commonly used because its size adjust ability, easy of
cutting and installation, low cost and incombustibility. The disadvantages is its
breathability decrease its insulation performance if there is an airflow in the
thermal barrier and its flexibility tends to cause variable insulation performance
depending on the installation quality. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure
ventilation control at the connection between walls and the floor, and ceiling in
order to prevent airflow within the walls and insulation material. It is also requires

that insulation materials are properly and firmly installed the required area inside
the building envelope.

b. Blown in insulation
This is atype of loose fill insulation that is blown into the ceiling, roof, walls and
other component. Example of material include glass wool, rock wool and cellulose
fiber. It is generally easy to install especially for ceiling insulation, but it has
slightly lower performance than batt insulation.

c. Board insulation
This insulation material is often used in the exterior insulation methods for
floor insulation and on the outside of the building frame. This type of material
include plastic foam insulation material, such as extrude polystyrene foam,
expanded polystyrene foam, rigid urethane foam, polyethylene foam and
phenolic foam as well as glass wool and rock wool. Generally it has higher
insulation performance than batt insulation when comparing materials with
the same thickness.
On the other hand, this material is less susceptible to moisture problem. it is
also need to be used with a fire resistant exterior finish when install on the
exterior side of the frame as it is prone to fire and UV damage.

4. Foamed in place insulation

Foamed in place insulation materials such as spray urethane foam insulation
are best characterized by their ease of installation.

Table 4 shows a list of thermal conductivity of insulation material and

minimum thickness to obtain the required thermal resistance.

2. Basic structure of thermal barrier

a. Our daily activities will generates moisture every day and
if this moisture penetrates the wall ad roof and remains
there in winter, it is cooled and result condensation.
To prevent this, we need to install a vapor barrier as
continuous as possible on the interior side of the insulation.

b.There is a risk of the condensation seeped through the small

Gaps in the vapor barrier as well as contained in insulation wood
and polywood that remain in insulation. To prevent this, and promote
drying the interior structure, a ventilated cavity is installed in
the exterior wall and underfloor ventilation and attic ventilation
are ensured to exposed the exterior side of the insulation
to the outside air.
c. when using glass wool and other fiber insulation materials, it is necessary to
install a vapor permeable weather barrier which resist wind on the exterior side of
insulation so that the rain seeping from the exterior finish and other material does
not wet the interior of the structure.

3) Insulation airflow blocking

In an insulation materials installed within the structures, a sufficient level of

insulation may not be maintained if there is airflow inside the envelope. In
order to fully demonstrate effective insulation, it is necessary to block the
airflow from the crawl space to the walls (exterior and partition walls) as well
as from the walls to the attic space. To achieved this, you can install airflow
blocking along the top and bottom of the walls
Airflow blocking is required for the interior insulation method, but necessary
when insulating the roof and foundation in addition to using the exterior
insulation method for exterior walls
The following are 4 types of major airflow blocking methods:

4) Installing insulation
a. installation should with no gap between it and the surrounding frame
b. when installing insulation with integral vapor barrier , sealed batt
insulation has large tabs is recommended
c. it is recommended the minimum thickness of separate vapor barrier film is
0.1 mm
d. it is recommended the minimum thickness of integral vapor barrier film is
0.05 mm
e. Vapor barrier film for residential use is JIS A 6930

5) Examining insulation method for each component

a) floor insulation
Select insulation materials which do not cause harmful sagging,
displacement or gaps between them and flooring after installation due
to their own weight and drying shrinkage of wood or install an
insulation support that prevent sagging after installation
Perform moisture control for the ground under the floor and take
underfloor ventilation measures including underfloor air vents
Installing subfloor plywood will ensure moisture control and air
tightness
Moisture control to achieved Level 3 or 4 are:
If plywood is install: joints (seams) of plywood floor should be place
above the sheathing (floor joist. etc) and the four corners of plywood
floor should be nailed. If joining plywood without sheathing, seal the
joint with airtight tape
If plywood is not installed: install an air and vapor barrier with a
separate vapor barrier film unless tongue and groove flooring is used.

2. Foundation installation
Insulation should be installed on the exterior, interior or both sides of the
foundation
Insulation material should be low water absorption such as plastic board
insulation
Make sure to prevent gaps by installing airtight gasket between upper
surface of foundation and groundsill.
Use decay and termite resistant wood for floor framing and slab on grade
foundation for moisture control of the ground can eliminate the need for
chemical preservatives in the crawl space.

3. Slab on grade insulation

Install low water permeable insulation under slab on grade.

4. Exterior wall insulation

Install air flow blocking along the top and bottom of the exterior wall
Lay insulation from the groundsill to the cross beam, and make sure no
displacement or sagging over extended period of time
Make sure there is no gap between the diagonal brace and piping
It is recommended to use elastic plastic board insulation material as much as
possible to fill in the gaps.
It is recommended to install 15-20 mm thick ventilated cavity on the exterior
side of thermal barrier to prevent internal condensation in walls by removing
moisture, eliminates water, leakage from exterior finish and expels heat in
summer.
When using vapor permeable sheet for the weather barrier, make sure that
sheathing is not covering the ventilation cavity

5. Ceiling Insulation
Insulation on the ceiling is prone to gaps at the connection between the ceiling
and exterior walls, junction with partition walls, area around ceiling hangers,
between insulation materials, around ceiling seamlessly with the wall to prevent
a gap. Install insulation over the entire ceiling seamlessly with the wall to prevent
a gap
When using batt insulation over standard ceiling sheathing, lay insulation in
parallel to the ceiling joist seats and install without gaps by making slits in the
ceiling hanger. For moisture control, apply a separate vapor barrier film or use
special plasterboard backed with a vapor barrier (Figure 40).

When using insulation with an integral vapor barrier, insert insulation between
the ceiling joists and sample the overlaid tabs of the vapor barrier at the bottom
surface of the ceiling joist. If insulation thickness of at least 150mm is required,
use two layers of insulation and lay the top layer in parallel to the ceiling joists
seats then place the bottom layer between the ceiling joists under the ceiling
joist seats and fasten the tabs.
If a suspended ceiling construction method adopted, used integral vapor barrier.
(Figure 42)
If a blown insulation adopted, it is recommended to install sheathing board so the
ceiling insulation not blocking the attic ventilation. (Figure 43)

6. Insulation above beams

Insulation is place above plywood over the aligned tops of cross beams and
tie beams. It is easy to install and no need for air blocking. (Figure 44)

The plywood can serves as vapor barrier

7. Roof insulation
In order to prevent internal condensation and promote heat removal in
summer, it is recommended to install a ventilated cavity with a thickness at
least 30mm on the exterior of the insulation.

8. Lean to roof insulation

2. Examining insulation technology for opening

1) Selecting windows
2) Selecting window sashes
2.a Insulation Sashes
2.b Double Glazing
3) Reinforce insulation by interior and exterior covering
4)Effectiveness of insulating shutter

1) Selecting windows
When designing and installing windows, it is necessary to consider
construction area, solar radiation level, sunshine hours, direction of the
house, insulation performance and cost of windows.
In addition, the purpose and view of room, thermal environment, light
environment and cross ventilation performance should also be in the
consideration before installing a window.

2) Selecting window sashes

2.a Insulation Sashes

Aluminum sashes have an extremely high thermal conductivity, and will lead
to condensation.
Metal frame with thermal break (insulating sashes) divide the sash frame into
interior and exterior and connect them with rigid urethane or other material
that less heat conductive.
Resin or wood sashes with a low thermal conductivity have a higher
insulation performance
2.b Double Glazing
Double glazing refers to two panel of glass filled with dry air or argon or other
insert gas in the space between the two panels, and has significantly higher
insulation performance compared to single glazing.
2) Reinforce insulation by interior and exterior covering
Use window screen, storm windows or curtain will increase insulation
performance
4 ) Effectiveness of insulating shutter
Insulating shutter will dramatically increase comfort and energy efficiency, but the
condensation issue or indoor humidity is also need to be considered.
4.1.6 Example of insulation planning