A New Envelope with Highly Energy-Efficient Insulation

This article examines, from the insulation viewpoint, a new lightweight, slim, high energy efficient, lighttransmitting envelope system, providing for seamless, free-form designs for use in architectural projects. The research was based on envelope components already existing on the market, especially components implemented with granular silica gel insulation, as this is the most effective translucent thermal insulation there is today. The tests run on these materials revealed that there is no single component that has all the features required of the new envelope model. However, some do have properties that could be exploited to generate this envelope, namely, the vacuum chamber of the VIP panels, the monolithic aerogel used as insulation in some prototypes, and the reinforced polyester barriers. By combining these three design components - the high-performance thermal insulation of the vacuum chamber, combined with monolithic silica gel insulation and the free-form design potential provided by materials like reinforced polyester and epoxy resins-, we have been able to define and test a new, variable geometry, envelope insulation system with excellent energy-saving leveis.