Aerogel materials for heritage buildings: Materials, properties and case studies

Aerogels are open-porous, high-performance thermal insulation materials that can be used for very thin building insulation. So far, the application conditions of these materials and their potential in heritage buildings have not yet been described comprehensively. This review shows the technical properties of commercially available aerogel materials – such as blankets, boards and renders – and their use scenarios in heritage buildings, taking into account the heritage criteria of authenticity, integrity, reversibility and compatibility. Additionally, historic buildings that were refurbished using aerogels are presented. The study by theoretical evaluations and calculated U-values indicates that superinsulating aerogel materials have an exceptional potential in the refurbishment of heritage buildings. The presented examples show the feasibility of refurbishments with aerogel and the resulting improvements in terms of both comfort and thermal properties. Hence, aerogel materials are well suited to be used in preservation of heritage objects according to generally known rules and conditions of heritage preservation, thus contributing to the reduction of energy consumption in the building sector.