| Summary: | Savings from heating and cooling energy use while not compromising indoor comfort condition is essential to reduce the energy costs on buildings. In order to accomplish this goal, an alternative is to search for a new insulation material that is an effective insulator and inexpensive at the same time. In the present work, various insulation materials created with successive layers of polystyrene and either of the following inert gases; carbon dioxide, argon, nitrogen, or air were investigated. Radiation effect on the polystyrene surfaces was included. Based on 1.0cm of gas layer size, Rvalue (thermal resistance) of carbon dioxide exceeded Rvalue for argon, nitrogen, or air. This result identified the carbon dioxide as a potential medium to be used inside insulation materials. Insulation effectiveness of carbon dioxide relative to single polystyrene without any radiation effect was calculated for gas layer sizes of 1.0cm, 0.86cm, and 0.6cm on 3cm-thick insulation material, and it was, respectively, 31.8%, 28.6%, and 22.0%. Radiation effect on the polystyrene surfaces needs to be kept at minimum for a better insulation. An insulation material with carbon dioxide layered structure is expected to pay off its implementation cost in regard to energy savings in a reasonable amount of time (2.39yr). Argon was the next alternative to carbon dioxide gas.
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