On the results of long-term winter testing of active thermal insulation

• Published in: Energy and buildings 2023-10, Vol.296, p.113412, Article 113412
• Main Authors: Kisilewicz, Tomasz, Fedorczak-Cisak, Małgorzata, Sadowska, Beata, Ickiewicz, Irena, Barkanyi, Tamas, Bomberg, Mark, Gobcewicz, Ewa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Active thermal insulation; Ground heat exchanger; Hydronic heating/cooling; Integration geo-solar and house energy management; Next generation housing; Thermos-active design
• ISSN: 0378-7788
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113412

•Use of Active Thermal Insulation allows to reduce heat loss through the opaque walls by 60%.•Active Thermal Insulation captures, stores and uses the sun's energy (island system).•The glycol temperature in the ATI system was systematically lower than the internal temperature and higher than the external temperature.•The ATI system in the building shortens the heating season.•Using the ATI system allows to reduce the thickness of the external partitions. Active thermal insulation (ATI) is a sustainable technical solution in which the thermal energy stored in the ground is used to reduce heat transfer through the external building envelope. The authors proposed an innovative combination of the ATI system with the EVG-3D structural system, which consists of the panels with a layer of galvanized mesh on both sides of the polystyrene core, connected by the galvanized steel trusses that pass through the polystyrene core. The paper analyses the energy efficiency of the EVG-3 wall with the ATI system. The results were monitored for ten years (2012–2022) in a demonstration house in north eastern Hungary. One heating season was selected for more detailed analysis. The mean measured reduction of the heat flux lost through the building's opaque external envelope in this season was 60.3% with the maximum monthly reduction equal to 73.1% at the beginning of the heating season. The unique nature of the presented here results lies in the fact that they are based on very long and continuous measurements of the innovative solution, carried out in a real building.