Thermal and Filtration Performance Assessment of a Dynamic Insulation System

Improvement in the thermal performance of the envelope in Nearly Zero Energy Buildings could lead to the paradoxical need for high energy consumption to handle the internal moisture load and pollutants by using mechanical equipments. An alternative passive strategy is related to the use of breathing envelopes integrating a “dynamic insulation”. In these systems, outdoor air is drawn into the building and passes through a porous insulation material being in this way pre-heated and filtered. This paper provides experimental and analytical results on the thermal and filtration performance of a dynamic insulation for building envelope for application in temperate climate.