Aerogel-based materials for improving the building envelope’s thermal behavior: A brief review with a focus on a new aerogel-based rendering

Most developed countries have set an objective to reduce their energy consumption and green house gas emissions. In most countries, the building sector is the largest energy consumer. This sector offers a significant potential for improved energy efficiency through the use of high-performance insulation and energy-efficient systems. For existing buildings, renovation has a high priority in many countries, because these buildings represent a high proportion of energy consumption and they will be present for decades to come. Several studies have shown that the best way to reduce the energy consumption in buildings remains the reduction of heat losses through the envelope. Nowadays, there is a growing interest in the highly insulating materials such as aerogels. Due to their highly insulating characteristics, aerogels are becoming one of the most promising materials for building insulation. Although the cost of aerogel-based materials remains high for cost-sensitive industries such as building industry, this cost is expected to decrease in the following years as a result of the advancement in the aerogel production technologies as well as the large-scale material production leading to lower unit costs. In this study, a brief review on aerogel applications in buildings is presented. Some examples of opaque aerogel-based materials and translucent aerogel-based systems are illustrated. Then, a new insulating rendering based on silica aerogels is presented. Its impact on energy performance for different houses is examined. © Springer India 2015.