Thermal Performance Analysis of Conventionally Available Insulation Materials for Residences in Northern Areas of Pakistan

The problem of energy shortages and changing climatic conditions has received a lot of attention in recent years. The building sector accounts for 60% of global energy consumption, with domestic buildings accounting for 20% to 40%. Most of this energy is used for heating, cooling, and ventilation. To address such energy shortages, the development of extremely energy-efficient buildings is a critical requirement for improving Pakistan's environmental status. Innovative building insulation solutions may be able to assist the country in coping with the crisis. The focus of this study was on the northern areas of Pakistan, intending to evaluate approaches for better thermal performance of buildings in cold climates. Insulation materials that are both innovative and cost-effective have the potential to minimize operational energy requirements and hence make buildings more efficient. In this study two commercially available insulating materials, polyethylene and polystyrene were assessed experimentally for a residential building in Murree, a hill station of Pakistan. The case study building was monitored using extruded polystyrene and polyethylene. Thermal data was recorded on hourly basis using a Testo Saveries System for 14 days in 2019 and for the current study 6 hourly data is used. Comparison of these two market available insulation materials in test room 1 and test room 2 are compared with the control room. The test materials were additionally compared based on their cost and minimum available thickness being applied. Polyethylene (PE) was observed to be five times cost effective than the other insulation material. In addition, the thermal performance of PE was comparatively better than extruded polystyrene (XPS), as in most of the days, the indoor temperature did not drop below 3°C, while Room with XPS had minimum 2°C and the control room showed more fluctuations in temperature from – 2°C to 2.5°C in that duration of the year. Polyethylene was also concluded to be the better material in terms of thickness necessary for optimum thermal performance and is hence suggested for use in buildings in Pakistan's colder regions.