Life Cycle Energy Analysis of Thermal Insulation: Agricultural waste materials in Thailand

This study evaluates the life cycle energy of insulation boards made from agricultural waste in Thailand, compared with conventional insulation. The evaluation was determined using Life Cycle Energy Analysis methodology which identified the embodied energy of insulation materials over their pre-use phase - manufacture and transportation. Three waste materials were chosen according to their availability and thermal properties for thermal insulation: bagasse, coconut coir and rice hulls. The conventional insulation materials for comparison are cellulose, fibreglass and rock wool. The results from LCEA show that the currently available agricultural waste insulation boards have higher embodied energy than conventional thermal insulation. Only the insulation board made from coconut coir has lower embodied energy than rock wool insulation whilst the embodied energy of bagasse board is almost eight times higher than that of rock wool insulation.