The environmental impact of optimum insulation thickness for external walls of buildings

Abstract

The city of Denizli is in the 3rd climatic region in Turkey and there is a heating requirement for a period of approximately five months. During this period, thermal insulation of buildings is very important in minimizing the energy usage and reducing emission. In this study, environmental impact of optimum insulation thickness in external walls has been investigated for the case of Denizli, Turkey. In the calculations, coal was used as the fuel source and the expanded polystyrene as the insulation material. The results proved that when the optimum insulation thickness was used, energy consumption was decreased by 46.6% and the emissions of CO2 and SO2 were reduced by 41.53%. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.