Thermal barrier efficiency

Abstract

The problem of reducing primary energy consumption is increasingly discussed in the technical literature. Relatively large amounts of energy are used to heat rooms. In the case of resources of much cheaper waste energy or energy from renewable sources with a temperature lower than required in the rooms, the so-called “thermal barrier” placed in external walls can be used to reduce heat transmission losses. The thermal barrier is a vertical wall element with pipes with a heating medium installed in the partition, with a temperature lower than the temperature in the room but higher than that resulting from the heat transfer through the partition without a barrier. In the paper, on the basis of the developed model of a partition with the thermal barrier, for the assumed input values and the partition’s surroundings, the efficiency of the thermal barrier was definedand determined. For the selected case, the paper presents the results of the analysis of the impact on the efficiency of the thermal barrier of half the distance between the pipes of the barrier and the thermal conductivity coefficient. The results of the calculations are presented in the graphs. The received conclusions regarding the impact of these parameters on the efficiency of the barrier confirmed the expectations. As the distance between the pipes increases, efficiency of the barrier decreases, and as the product of the thickness and conductivity of the barrier material increases, its efficiency increases. Knowledge of the barrier efficiency will allow to easily determine the average barrier temperature and the amount of heat given off bythe room and by the heating medium flowing in the barrier. It should be noted that the total amount of heat given off by a wall with a thermal barrier is greater than through a wall without a barrier, but the costs of heating the room may be lower.