Combination optimization, importance order of parameters and aging consequence prediction for thermal insulation coating with radiation characteristics

Thermal insulation coating (TIC) is beneficial for reducing building energy consumption. In this work, a joint optimization and analysis approach for multi-parameters of TIC was proposed to determine its optimization trend, importance order of parameter and available parameter combinations. Its radiation characteristics and thermal resistance were comprehensively considered. Based on the approach, TIC was evaluated from energy saving rate of cooling (ESRcool), heating (ESRheat), and total energy consumption (ESRtotal) in two climates: hot summer cold winter (Shanghai), and hot summer warm winter (Guangzhou). Results indicated that constantly positive ESRcool was only achieved by optimizing solar absorptivity, while constantly positive ESRheat can be obtained by optimizing different parameters. To guarantee positive ESRtotal, thermal resistance should exceed 0.11 m2·K·W−1 or solar absorptivity should be between 0.2 and 0.6 in Shanghai, while solar absorptivity should be between 0.1 and 0.3 in Guangzhou. For these two cities, the most important parameter was thermal resistance or solar absorptivity. The optimal TIC for Shanghai was “high thermal resistance + low solar absorptivity + low emissivity”, while high emissivity was suitable for Guangzhou. By utilizing the approach and results, energy-saving effect of TIC can be optimized during material design, and influence of material aging can be predicted.