Do industrial factory buildings need insulation panels on their exterior walls?
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This post was last edited by sdwfsgyykai on 2019-9-8 at 14:43. A chemical processing project is currently under construction; most of the factory buildings are designed with exterior insulation panels. I think it’s not necessary to use them, but the design agency insists on including them, stating that it’s required by building energy efficiency standards. What chemical plants don’t lack is steam; heating starts in October every year, and the insulation panels have low strength, making them prone to damage during subsequent upgrades or repairs. Within the factory building, equipment cooling is more important; it is sufficient to keep the temperature inside the building around 10°, so as to prevent the water pipes and instrumentation pipelines from freezing in winter. What do you all think? Is there any evidence?
It hasn’t been implemented in practice, but insulating industrial buildings can indeed help save energy. However, it’s not mandatory; you don’t have to do it. The design firms are there to carry out the work, and as long as nothing violates the regulations, the owner can decide what design requirements to set, and the design firm will create the design according to those requirements.
Insulating industrial buildings remains a key means of saving energy, primarily for energy-saving reasons
Apart from the requirements of energy-saving design, if steam supply is interrupted in winter or there is a temporary shutdown, the water pipes and instrument pipelines in the workshop become completely useless; although this may seem to save a little money, it actually creates many potential problems.
I have seen with my own eyes a gearbox housing in a chemical plant crack from freezing, which caused the plant to stop operating. This gearbox also has a peculiar design; it even features a water-cooling jacket.
If energy-saving requirements apply, follow these instructions. Otherwise, the energy-saving review and acceptance will not be approved. Now local authorities are focusing on energy management.
Some process procedures have requirements regarding ambient temperature; whether insulation is needed must be determined based on the production process, rather than on whether there’s a shortage of steam.