| Abstract | The thermal insulation standards for buildings have become increasingly stringent. This has
been achieved primarily through passive strategies, such as the use of materials with high
thermalresistance or increasing insulation thickness to minimize heat transfer through walls,
floors, and roofs. As of 2025, the Energy SavingDesign Standard of Buildings require a wall
thermaltransmittance (U-value) as low as 0.150 W/m2·K,reflecting this heightened demand
for energy efficiency. Although various advanced insulation materials, such as phenolic foam,
have been developed to approach these standards, it remains challenging to completely
eliminate heat loss through the building envelope. To address the limitations of conventional
passive insulation systems, this study proposes an active thermal insulation panel system
that incorporates thermoelectric modules to create a thermally active wall. This system is
designed to be retrofittable to existing buildings and operate with minimal energy input. To
evaluate the winter energy consumption of the proposed system installed on the front and
side walls, a finite element analysis was conducted through a numerical simulation software.
The analysis was based on standard building wall models. According to the simulation results,
the energy consumption of the thermoelectric module installed at the front wall is
approximately 10.3 kWh/year per household, calculated based on the opaque wall area,
excluding window sections. For the side wall, the energy consumption of the thermoelectric
module consumes close to 50.1 kWh/year per household. This indicates its potential
contribution to reducing heating loads in buildings. Finally, it is expected that the building’s
insulation performance can be maintained, and the thermal load can be reduced. |
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