Being the leading brand that introduced insulation to Turkey 57 years ago, İzocam noted that by improving the U-value in insulation, an additional 28% of energy savings can be achieved by 2050.
The increase in energy costs has begun to pressure every segment from individual users to tradesmen and industrialists. Leading the insulation sector for 57 years with its healthy, safe and economical products, İzocam talked about the question "Why is U-value important in insulation" so that we can achieve a large-scale energy saving that will contribute to the country's economy.
Noting that 80% of the energy consumed in buildings is consumed for heating and cooling purposes, İzocam Managing Director Murat Savcı stated that the most common problem in residences is "not being able to getting heat due to lack of insulation". Savcı stated that 39.3 percent of the population has a heating problem due to the lack of insulation in their houses according to the Income and Living Conditions research announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), and according to the same statistics, 36.9 percent of the population faced problems such as leaky roof, damp walls, rotten window frames, etc. Emphasizing that it is possible to both warm up well and reduce the bills up to 60% with thermal insulation, Murat Savcı said that “according to the 'İZODER Turkey Heat and Water Insulation Market
Report' published by the Heat, Water, Sound and Fire Insulators Association (İZODER) in 2021, the per capita heat insulation material consumption in our country in 2020 was 0.18 cubic meters. In the EU, the average per capita consumption of insulation material in 2018 was 0.526 m3/person. Insulation material consumption per capita in the EU is 2.5 times higher than the per capita consumption in our country. As a result of the studies carried out by İZODER, considering the environmental commitments of our country, it is revealed that the current energy limits and the U value, which is defined as the thermal transmittance value, should be improved approximately 2-2.5 times in a cost-effective way. With this improvement, it is predicted that approximately 7% of the final energy can be saved by 2023, approximately 14% by 2030 and approximately 28% by 2050. These savings, which is estimated to be achieved by 2030, corresponds to an emission reduction potential of approximately 12%.”
Expressing that, based on these data, the most important agenda item that will determine the future of the insulation sector in Turkey will be the measures to be taken to reduce our dependence on foreign energy, İzocam Managing Director Murat Savcı said that “since the maximum level of energy efficiency can only be achieved with thick insulation, we will be talking more about the need to improve the U values, which is the thermal transmittance value in insulation, in the coming days. As a country, we can achieve the true leap in energy efficiency by improving the U values. When we compare the U values defined in developed countries with the U values recommended in our country, we clearly see that our U values need to be improved. In order to fulfill international commitments such as the Paris Agreement, our primary goal should be to ensure that buildings in Turkey have an environmentally friendly structure that consumes less energy.”
Noting that we need to increase the thermal insulation thicknesses determined in line with the limit values in the TS 825 Thermal Insulation Rules in Buildings Standard in our country accordingly, Murat Savcı said; “Currently, the annual energy consumption in insulated buildings in accordance with the standards is at the level of 120 - 150 kWh per square meter. In terms of building energy efficiency, energy consumption per square meter/year in developed countries has been determined as 30-50 kWh. When designing the building, it is recommended that the annual total energy consumption per square meter for heating and cooling of the building should be at this level. In Turkey, we are currently trying to make insulation suitable for 120-150 kWh per year per square meter. There is a difference of almost 4-5 times between us and EU countries," he said.
Comparing the insulation thicknesses applied in our cities with similar heating-cooling needs with the cities in Europe, İzocam Managing Director Murat Savcı said; “While cities such as Madrid and Florence apply 12 cm of insulation, 5 cm of insulation thickness is applied in Istanbul, which has similar climatic conditions. Similarly, while the insulation thickness of 14 cm is taken as the basis in Paris and London, although it has similar heating-cooling needs, Ankara is trying to get warm with 6 cm of insulation.
We must design nearly zero energy buildings (NSEB)
Reminding that an important step has been taken regarding energy efficiency in our country recently, Murat Savcı noted that with the updates in the Regulation on Energy Performance in Buildings, which will be in force as of January 1, 2023, the minimum energy performance, which is still "C", will be increased to "B". Noting that the regulation will bring some increase in the thickness of the insulation material used in thermal insulation, Savcı said; “with this amendment, it will be mandatory for all buildings with a total construction area of more than 5 thousand square meters in a parcel to be constructed with at least 'B' energy performance class and at least 5 percent of the energy to be used will be met from renewable energy sources. Considering the guidelines published by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the minimum thickness of thermal insulation materials on the facades will increase.”
However, reminding that we should not overlook that we also need regulations that cover all buildings and aim to improve energy efficiency by much more than 20 percent in order to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources, Murat Savcı said; "All public buildings in the European Union since 2019, and all new buildings since the beginning of 2020 are being built as nearly zero-energy buildings (NSEB). These buildings are designed as insulated, with an annual energy consumption of 30-50 kWh per square meter for heating and cooling. In our country, with the new regulation, the goal is to reduce the energy consumption to the level of 100-120 kWh in a limited range of buildings with a total construction area of more than 5 thousand square meters.”