SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1991
STP16352S

Thermal Performance of One Loose-Fill Fiberglass Attic Insulation

Source

A series of experiments on one commonly available loose-fill fiberglass attic insulation has been performed using the guarded hot box capability of the Large Scale Climate Simulator at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These experiments were conducted using an attic test module that was built to simulate typical residential construction. Under simulated winter conditions, the surface-to-surface thermal resistance between the bottom of the gypsum board and the top of the insulation was found to decrease substantially as the surface-to-surface temperature difference increased from 10 to 40 K. At the largest temperature differences, the resistances were as much as a factor of two lower than the estimated nominal thermal resistance of the insulation. This change in thermal resistance has been attributed to natural convection within the insulation. It should be noted that the present experiments were performed with one type of loose-fill fiberglass insulation, and the results may not be applicable to other loose-fill insulations with different air flow and thermal properties. A series of experiments was also performed with various materials laid on top of the insulation. The most effective of these covering systems produced increases in thermal resistance of more than 100 percent at the largest temperature differences, and appeared to nearly eliminate heat transfer by natural convection in the temperature range investigated.

Author Information

Wilkes, KE
Wendt, RL
Delmas, A
Childs, PW
Price: $25.00
Contact Sales
Related
Reprints and Permissions
Reprints and copyright permissions can be requested through the
Copyright Clearance Center
Details
Developed by Committee: C16
Pages: 275–291
DOI: 10.1520/STP16352S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-5174-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-1420-3