Investigation of efficient parameters on optimum insulation thickness based on theoretical-Taguchi combined method

Abstract

Thermal insulation of buildings is one of the most effective energy conservation methods. However, most of the building walls still have little or no insulation despite Turkish Thermal Insulation Standard in Turkey. Four provinces from different climate zones, obtained by the Turkish Thermal Insulation Standard; Izmir (1st zone), Istanbul (2nd zone), Ankara (3rd zone), and Erzurum (4th zone) were selected for analysis. The aim of this study is to investigate of efficient parameters on optimum insulation thickness (OIT) in terms of the order of importance using theoretical-Taguchi coupled method. The OIT was considered as performance parameter. An L16 (4(3)*2(2)) orthogonal array was chosen as a design plan for the five parameters (wall, insulation, fuel type, heating degree-day (HDD) and lifetime). The results were analyzed using signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance method. Furthermore, contribution ratios for each parameter on OIT. HDD value is the most effective parameter on the OIT with a contribution ratio of 34.53% percentage of the total effect. The second most effective parameter is insulation type with a contribution ratio of 30.6%, and the effect of fuel type on the OIT is contribution ratio of 24.18% and it is followed by lifetime (8.2%), wall type (0.67%), respectively. Consequently, daily mean temperature of cities is most important parameter on OIT. Insulation and fuel type effect is less than HDD, the impact of fuel type is close the impact of insulation type, and the effect of wall type is less than the other parameters.