Analysis of different typologies of natural insulation materials with economic and performances evaluation of the same in building

Considering the significant impact that the residential sector has on energy consumption, it is particularly important to implement policies aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings for saving primary energy, and also to spread the concept of sustainable development through the use of appropriate technology and proper project criteria both for new constructions and for the rehabilitation of existing ones. It is in this context and in an attempt to reduce as much as possible the consumption of resources that fits the possibility of utilizing "natural" materials for the insulation of buildings. In this work they have been analyzed the natural insulation materials present on the Italian building market, where for "natural" it is meant the ones that are derived from renewable materials, which emit no pollutants and that are recyclable or biodegradable. Then it has been created a database which highlights the physical and thermohygrometrical characteristics (density, conductivity, specific heat, vapor permeability, etc.), as well as the possible applications (ceiling, wall, roof). Then it has been carried out a performing and economic comparison related to the replacement of the traditional insulation of a residential building located in Perugia (Central Italy) with the majority of the insulating materials identified in relation to its type of use. The synthetic insulating materials have been replaced in order to reach, for the analysed building, the same thermal performances obtained with the application of traditional insulators. From the analysis of dynamic thermal parameters has been deduced that the building envelope insulated with natural products has better thermal summer performances compared to the same insulated with traditional materials such as XPS, with the same thermal winter performances. This improvement is mainly due to the high value of the specific heat characteristic of the natural insulators. Finally, it has been carried out an economic comparison between the two types of insulation from which it has been possible to deduce that the utilize of natural insulation products have meant an increase in the costs which is widely variable depending on the type of natural insulator used.