Assessment of Cardboard as an Environment-Friendly Wall Thermal Insulation for Low-Energy Prefabricated Buildings

Exterior walls play a significant role in buildings thermal behaviour, and utilization of proper insulation materials with high thermal performance and low adverse environmental impacts is of great importance. The main aim of this study is to assess thermal and environmental benefits and drawbacks of honeycomb cardboard application in external wall configuration of prefabricated buildings. Its thermal conductivity was measured by guarded hot plate method, and its steady-state as well as periodic thermal transmittances were obtained. Furthermore, main construction junctions were simulated, and their linear thermal transmittance was studied. Secondly, with a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, the adverse impacts of cardboard on environment in production phase and within a limited impact category set were studied. Additionally, the same procedures of thermal and environmental assessments were performed on a number of functionally equivalent insulation materials to be compared with cardboard. The results demonstrate an overall image of positive and negative consequences of cardboard application as insulation for wall envelopes.