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Thermal performance of gas filled panels with reflective surfaces installed in an attic

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Abstract
The thermal performance of gas filled panels (GFP) with internal and external reflective surfaces have been measured in the large scale climate simulator at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Prototype panels filled with argon and panels filled with air were evaluated for both winter and summer conditions. The nominally 1.5 inch thick GFP were installed on top of a 3.5 inch thick nominal R 13 (RSI 2.29) fiberglass batts to simulate retrofit attic insulation installation. Analysis of the experimental results provided the thermal resistance of the batts, the thermal resistance of the GFP panels and the radiant barrier contributions to the overall thermal resistance between the attic floor and the roof sheathing. The total contribution of the GFP layer installed above fiberglass batt insulation was 5 to 6 ft²•hºF/Btu (0.88 to 1.06 m²•W/K) for winter conditions with outside temperature 25F and inside temperature 70F. The GFP added 12 to13 ft²•hºF/Btu (2.11 to 2.29 m²•W/K) to the attic thermal resistance with outside temperature of 115F and roof sheathing temperature of 150F due to simulated solar radiation. The summer radian barrier contribution to the attic thermal resistance was about 6 ft²•hºF/Btu (0.88 to 1.06 m²•W/K) for both the argon filled and air filled GFPs. This project included eleven steady state LSCS measurements (ASTM C 1363) complemented by material R-value measurements made with a heat flow meter apparatus (ASTM C 518).
Date
12/2007
Author(s)
D Yarbrough; R Graves; T Petrie; D Kinninger
Page(s)
Keyword(s)
thermal performance; reflective surface; GFP; gas filled panel


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