Glazing systems with silica aerogel for energy savings in buildings

Autor: Elisa Moretti, Cinzia Buratti
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Applied Energy. 98:396-403
ISSN: 0306-2619
Popis: Innovative glazing systems with silica aerogel in interspace were investigated for energy saving in buildings. Aerogel is a promising transparent insulating material, due to its low thermal conductivity (down to 0.010 W m −1 K −1 ), high solar factor, high daylight transmittance and remarkable lightweight. Four samples were constructed with float and low-e glasses and granular or monolithic aerogel in interspace (14 mm thickness). The main optical characteristics of the samples were measured, in order to estimate the light transmittance τ v , the solar factor g and the colour rendering index R a , in compliance with EN 410/2011. Finally, the thermal transmittance was calculated. The monolithic aerogel glazings showed the best performance with respect to granular systems, both for light transmittance (0.62 between two 4 mm float glasses) and thermal insulation (0.6 W m −2 K −1 ). The solar factor was 0.74. Results showed a very promising behaviour of aerogel windows when compared to the windows normally used in Italy and in EU countries: monolithic aerogel between two 4 mm float glasses gave a 62% reduction in heat losses, with a 17% reduction in light transmittance when compared to a double glazing with a low-e layer; a high solar factor and colour rendering were also assured.
Databáze: OpenAIRE