JiSMART2021—039: Optimization Analysis of Insulation Thickness of Exterior Walls Based on EnergyPlus and Economic Model for Rural Traditional Dwellings in the Northeast of Sichuan Hills, China

Abstract

There are a large number of primitive traditional dwellings in the northeast of Sichuan, China due to the large rural population and relatively backward economic development. Their exterior walls are generally thin clay walls without any insulation materials, which have low thermal performance and lead to poor indoor thermal environments. Insulation materials can improve the thermal performance of the walls and indoor thermal environment while reducing the building energy consumption, but the corresponding material cost will also rise. Therefore, the optimum thickness of insulation material necessarily exists when the economy is considered. In this paper, five common insulation materials (expanded polystyrene, stone wool board, polyurethane foam, extruded polystyrene, and phenolic foam) are employed on the exterior walls of traditional dwellings in the northeast of Sichuan hills and their energy-saving effects and economic benefits are evaluated by simulation (EnergyPlus) and dynamic investment payback period model. Results show that the optimum thickness of these insulation materials ranges from 0.081m to 0.144m, and the economic benefits during their service life (25 years) are between 283.2 CNY/m2-306.7 CNY/m2 while the dynamic payback period is between 7.8 and 8.7 years. The results can provide some data support for the energy-saving retrofit of local traditional dwellings.