Title : Energy performance of world’s first vacuum insulated heatable curtain for realistic energy-loss reduction with mild radiant heating
Abstract:
Meeting urgent climate targets requires rapid, scalable reductions in operational energy use, yet traditional fibrous and polymeric insulation rarely achieves sub-0.20 W·m?²·K?¹ U-values without excessive thickness, embodied-carbon penalties, installation complexity, or compromised fire safety. This work presents a harmonised portfolio of ultra-thin vacuum insulation technologies (VITs) advanced to TRL 7–9 and, within it, the world’s first Vacuum Insulated Heatable Curtain (VIHC) as the main focus and key novelty. The portfolio includes 10–25 mm Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIPs), façade-integrated Decorative VIP (DVIP), 4 mm Vacuum Insulated Wallpaper (VIW), 7 mm Vacuum Insulated Curtains (VIC) and modular Vacuum Insulated Bag/Box (VIBB) systems, all based on evacuated porous cores (≤10 Pa) to suppress convective and gaseous conductive heat transfer. Fibreglass-core VIPs achieve thermal conductivities as low as 2.5 mW·m?¹·K?¹ (U ≈ 0.16 W·m?²·K?¹), while 30 mm DVIP cassettes deliver λ ≈ 7 mW·m?¹·K?¹ with EN 13501-1 Class A1 fire rating and long-term stability. VIW retrofits reduce solid-brick wall U-values by up to 71% and lower modelled space-heating demand in London homes by about 30%, whereas VIC with 3 mm removable VIP inserts achieves whole-curtain conductivities of 13 mW·m?¹·K?¹ and around 23% cooling-load savings in single-glazed Riyadh office scenarios. Building on VIC, the VIHC integrates low-wattage electrical heaters, consuming roughly 1 kWh per three-hour cycle, to deliver mild radiant warmth at the window perimeter without driving the main heating system into high duty. This combination of very low thermal transmittance and localised comfort control provides realistic, user-centric energy-loss reduction rather than purely theoretical savings. Life-cycle analysis across buildings and cold-chain logistics indicates that modular, shape-flexible VITs, exemplified by VIHC, can prevent approximately 15–60 kg CO?e·m?² over 25 years, corresponding to 20–90% abatement of end-use thermal energy waste, and therefore represent an immediately deployable pathway for demand-side decarbonisation.
