Researchers at ETH Zurich have produced a new material based on aerogel that insulates buildings better than conventional materials. This insulating material offers two-and-a-half times better insulation than wood fibers or rock wool.
Traditionally, on the arrival of winter, we either put on some warm clothing or turn up the heating devices, which ultimately adds to the living cost.
Now, researchers are keen to use a new material as a coating for building walls to make a building warm relatively easier. The more effective the material outside, the less energy it takes to conserve heat internally.
The Aeroskin Tech company offers these prefab elements, which rapidly attach to a building’s walls. In contrast to the conventional materials that board up to 30 centimeters thick foam, 10 cm thick Aeroskin Tech aerogel-based product is enough to furnish optimum building insulation.
“The requirements vary depending on whether a building is renovated or a new build and whether the new build is constructed according to Minergie standards,” says Sanz Pont.
Aerogel is a high-performance insulator used in the aerospace industry. It is essentially a dry gel with a nonporous structure that does not lose volume upon drying.
Since the material is highly porous, it consists of up to 90 percent air in some cases, where heat is emitted from the collision between air molecules. Also, the tiny pores enable air molecules to even crash with the pore walls more often.
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This reduced the heat flow from interior to exterior, allowing heat preservation more efficiently. More interestingly, the air molecules are more isolated from each other in dry aerogels, which prohibits the escape of the interior heat.
“An aerogel is essentially a dried gel. Unlike normal gels, however, it does not collapse when dried but maintains its volume. It has a nanoporous structure,” explains Sanz Pont.
Since Aeroskin Tech is already familiar with various spray insulation prototypes, they hope to introduce the insulating material in the market within one or two years. The lead author asserts the huge potential in the market and high demand in Europe as a good starting point for gaining a foothold.
