Steady State Experimental Analysis of Various Solar Insulation Materials and Techniques for Buildings in Climatic Condition of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

It is known that enhancement of building energy efficiency can help in reducing energy consumption. The use of solar insulating materials are the most efficient and cost effective passive methods for reducing the cooling requirements of a building in the UAE. Apart from theoretical study, there is no experimental study performed in the UAE on energy savings by using solar insulation materials on buildings. Four (3mx3mx3m) solar calorimeters have been built in RAK, UAE in order to perform an open air outdoor test for energy savings obtained with solar insulating materials. The design is aimed to determine the heat flux reduction and the energy savings achieved with and without different solar insulating materials, mounted at the south wall of solar calorimeters with similar indoor and ambient conditions. Experimental results will be discussed to evaluate the thermal performance during summer's peak season when cooling demand of the building is at peak. Duration of the test is from 2012 to 2014. The steady state experimental study shows that if standard building material i.e. concrete is replaced with energy efficient solar insulation materials (like PIR and EIFS) and reflective coatings, energy savings up to an average 7.6-25.3% can be achieved due to reduction of heat flux by an average 22-75% at south wall during summer's steady state analysis.