To reduce the energy consumption of buildings, use of systems incorporating super-insulators, such as vacuum insulation panels (VIPs), is becoming more and more frequent and is of growing interest.
VIPs are made of a material with a nanometric structure maintained at low pressure, allowing their thermal conductivity to be reduced by a factor of 5 compared to insulation commonly used in buildings.
Thus, for the same thermal resistance, R=5 m2.K / W, the thickness of a VIP is equal to 25 mm compared to:
- 110 mm for polyurethane,
- 160 mm for expanded polystyrene and,
- up to 180 mm for mineral wool.
With these high-performance products, a very high level of thermal insulation can be achieved with a low thickness. As a result, constructive solutions including VIPs provide an answer to the space problems encountered during the design or renovation of buildings. For example, in thermal insulation through the interior walls, the use of VIPs makes it possible to maintain a maximum living area, which is an essential criterion for housing with a high price per square meter. In addition, in the renovation of horizontal walls, the use of VIPs to reinforce the thermal insulation of a low floor or an accessible roof terrace means that the ceiling height and the dimensions of the existing opening bays can be kept, without any structural modification of the building.