Full potential of Vacuum Insulation Panels still unknown by professionals in the building sector

On 27 September 2018 over 50 participants gathered in Vienna, Austria, to attend the first ever conference organised by the Vacuum Insulation Panel Association (VIPA International). Under the theme ‘More space and saving energy with Vacuum Insulation Panels’ the conference gathered a panel of speakers from different backgrounds to discuss building energy efficiency and the role of super insulation technologies like Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIPs).

Maarten de Groote of the Brussels-based think-thank Buildings Performance Institute Europe spoke about the different initiatives of the European Union in the building sector and the challenges to renovate the existing building stock, but also about the opportunities that can be seized by producers of VIPs in this process. He highlighted the impact of national policies, pilot and show cases and the focus on the end user.

Thomas Kreitmayer of the Vienna City Council focused on the role of building renovation for urban efficiency in the city of Vienna. He presented the main Viennese approaches in increasing the energy efficiency of the building sector and the challenges therein, given the large stock of historical buildings in the city.

The discussion continued with the presentation of Florent Loussouarn of Pouget Consultants, who spoke about the need for industrial solutions for renovation. He showed a couple of videos of 1-day-jobsites where apartments in Paris were renovated with VIPs in just one working day achieving greater insulation with minimal disruption for the apartment tenants. His presentation showed that time has come to massify jobsite applications with Vacuum Insulation Panels.

Ben Arts of IQ Panels (NL) illustrated how the combination of high thermal performance and low thickness of Vacuum Insulation Panels allowed to develop spandrel panels which fit perfectly within the current window frames while meeting strict energy regulations. He illustrated the fit for purpose of VIP system solutions for the renovation of residential buildings with several jobsite illustrations.

Bernhard Karner of Rooftrade (AU) presented the solutions for flat roofs and terraces his company installed in Austria. A lower thickness of the insulation complex allows to meet the challenge of restricted space both in renovation and new built.

Throughout the different interventions and on the debate that followed it was highlighted that there is still more to be done in terms of awareness about VIPs and their potential in building renovation, especially in cities where space is at premium. The real-life examples provided by Pouget Consultants, IQ Panel and Rooftrade show that this technology is already being used successfully in Europe. Tools like the promotional video recently released by VIPA International (link) will hopefully contribute to promote the technology further among building professionals.

Gregor Erbenich, President of VIPA International, said: “The VIPA International Board is very pleased with the outcome and the attendance of this conference. This was the first time we engaged into such exercise so we are happy to see that we met our objectives. We already agreed that we will definitely continue with similar initiatives to promote and raise awareness about our technology and to exchange best-practices on this complex product. Our next conference will take place in Spring 2020 and will cover other applications of VIPs.”

The event presentations are available for download here.