Aerogel Insulation
Energy loss is a common issue in buildings. Heat energy escapes a house through windows, doors, walls or ceilings. Meanwhile cold air infiltrates a house reducing the heat energy within it. ("Heat Gain and Loss Explained."). Up to 35% of heat loss occurs through walls and almost 25% through roofs, the other heat is lost through windows doors and the floor (Jimbo.). Heat energy loss has numerous disadvantages, for instance the high costs it results with. In the case that the heat energy is lost, house owners are required to pay more money for fuel as more fuel is needed for a shorter period of time, with the energy being lost quickly. Especially in the current time houses are aimed to be made as eco-friendly and energy
…show more content…
Aerogel is known as the world’s lightest solid, weighing almost a third of what air weighs. It is produced from silica, silicon dioxide, and up to 99.8 % air. Its light weight is quit misleading as it is comparatively strong and durable; half a kilogram of aerogel is able to support approximately half a ton. The production of aerogel insulation starts as a silica dioxide gel, which has a texture similar to the one of gelatin. The substance undergoes a process called supercritical drying where the liquid is removed from the gel leaving the linked silica network without causing the material to collapse. As aerogel is made up of 95% to 99% air, it is very porous. Its pores are exceptionally minuscule preventing air particles from colliding with another and stopping gas phase conduction, and with that heat energy loss. To increase aerogel insulations effectiveness more materials are added, such as carbon. Aerogel insulation significantly reduces convection, conduction and radiation, which are the three procedures of heat transfer ("Low Energy House - What is Aerogel Insulation?"). Aerogel insulation is produced as thin sheets and replaces traditional insulations such as fiberglass or cellulose insulation, which have more volume ("High-tech aerogels wrap homes with