Suspended timber ground floors: Heat loss reduction potential of insulation interventions

There are approximately 10 million suspended timber ground floor constructions in the UK and millions more globally. However, it is unknown how many of these floors are insulated and their performance has not been widely investigated. This study investigates the impact of retrofitting insulation on...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy and buildings 2017-10, Vol.153, p.549-563
Main Authors: Pelsmakers, S., Elwell, C.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beads
Case studies
Decision making
Emissions control
Flooring
Heat
Heat loss
In-situ U-values
Insulation
Insulation interventions
Joists
Pre-1919 housing
Retrofit
Retrofitting
Suspended timber ground floors
Thermal performance
Timber
Timber construction
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:There are approximately 10 million suspended timber ground floor constructions in the UK and millions more globally. However, it is unknown how many of these floors are insulated and their performance has not been widely investigated. This study investigates the impact of retrofitting insulation on the thermal performance of suspended timber ground floors through the detailed investigation of a UK case study dwelling. Practical and buildable interventions were undertaken: fully-filling the floor void with EPS beads, and 100mm woodfibre insulation between the joists. The performance of both interventions was monitored by high-resolution in-situ heat-flow monitoring in 27 floor locations, allowing for comparison with the uninsulated floor and with modelled results. While floors often remain uninsulated due to the disruption of retrospective works, this study highlighted potentially significant heat loss reductions: the mean whole floor U-value dropped by 65% for woodfibre insulation and 92% for bead-insulation which also benefited from sealed airbricks. A disparity between the in-situ measured and modelled performance was observed; this gap reduced the better insulated the floor was. The findings have implications for policy, retrofit decision-making and carbon emission reduction stock models, especially given the modelled underestimation of floor heat loss, impact of interventions and assumed financial payback for this study.
ISSN:0378-7788
1872-6178
DOI:10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.07.085