Is Concrete A Good Insulator Of Heat?

 

Bricks are often sold as great insulators, but it does not necessarily stand out in terms of insulation. It has a large thermal mass, is permeable to water, does not rot and does not need a regular coat of fresh paint. But the truth is that there is much more, especially in terms of insulation and thermal insulation in general. 

The insulation value of solid rock is negligible unless you really take into account the thermal mass of the material, which absorbs heat and cold easily and then stays there for a long time. Therefore, it is best to insulate stone walls from the outside, as the thermal mass eventually becomes warm and stays warm. Without sufficient insulation, all the energy used to heat or cool the building is lost to the outside world. If it is too cold, heat can be lost in all directions, so you should think of a holistic insulation that keeps heat in the house, but not so much if it is too hot. 

A steel and concrete building uses much more heating and cooling energy due to the high heat mass of the concrete, even if no additional insulation is used. 

Concrete, however, has a higher heat resistance because it is made of burning clay aggregates and not steel or steel - like materials. 

This means that thicker walls and more insulation materials are required to achieve the same thermal resistance. Concrete is an insulation, but it also stores heat in the walls and helps to keep a room warm at night. Concrete and wall walls require additional insulation to meet the requirements of the Energy Code, especially in warmer climates. It offers an excellent heat mass, but has a low r - value and is therefore a poor insulator. 

The thermal insulation of a building is crucial to achieve thermal comfort for its inhabitants. Insulation reduces unwanted heat losses and gains and can reduce the energy requirement of the heating and cooling system. You can control the heat flow in your home by insulation, and any form of insulation can therefore also form a thermal bridge state. A well insulated building has lower heating or cooling costs if effective insulation is minimised. If the thermal flow resistance is high due to insulation materials, the heating / cooling costs can be reduced considerably. Sources: 3, 16, 19

When we talk about thermal insulation, we are not only talking about conduction insulation, but also about convection insulation. The radiation we are thinking of has the same effect as the other types of insulation mentioned, which slows down the transfer of heat energy through heat dissipation to a lesser extent than convection. 

The r-value of a material is its heat flux resistance and indicates the insulating capacity of the material. The resistance of heat flows is measured by the r-value, which happens to be the evaluation of the insulation (higher is better). The higher the r-values, the higher the effectiveness of an insulation material. R values depend on a number of factors, such as the type of material, its insulation properties and its thermal conductivity. 

In the case of buildings, thermal insulation is used for applications with low temperature differences. A combination of insulation and exterior walls requires a high heat mass, which acts as a heat sink in hot weather. Therefore, only conductivity and heat resistance are required to improve the building application. The desirable property of an insulation material is maintained in the thermal conductivity. Good insulation materials have low thermal conductivity, which reduces the total heat value of the heat transfer.

Although concrete is not a good insulator and feels cold, it is enclosed in a hard foam as a method. It is true that concrete is not an excellent insulation material for buildings with high temperature differences and does not feel cold. In fact, it is not an effective insulation, as it encapsulates in the rigid foam that encloses the concrete in this method, i.e. it does not constitute sufficient insulation. 

Although it can be used for long-term thermal insulation, the costs are very high and the construction of the plastic foam is not simple due to its rigid nature. 

Better heat-resistant materials have been developed so that if you add 3 1 / 2 "glass fibre insulation with an r-value of 11, you can have a whole wall structure with good thermal insulation, adding holes in hollow plasterboard. The insulation of the concrete slab protects against frost and this is protected by a rigid insulation that contains heat that does not penetrate. It has been observed that the same thermal insulation can be used by pouring a hole into a hollow concrete block at a rate of 1.5 mm per year over a period of 10 years. GyPSum also has thermal insulation properties due to its high thermal conductivity and high frost resistance. Read more on Mino's Concretor in Canberra