A Study on Formaldehyde Emission and Indoor Air Quality in an Experimental Apartment Unit with Phenolic Foam Insulation

페놀폼 단열재가 적용된 실증주택에서 폼알데하이드 방출 및 실내공기질에 관한 연구

Building regulations and codes for thermal insulation have been continuously strengthened in an effort to reduce energy use in buildings. The more stringent building energy regulations demand insulation materials with better performance for buildings. Phenolic foam insulation is one of the high-performance insulation materials for buildings. Its thermal conductivity is about 0.018 ~ 0.020 W/(m·K), which shows better thermal insulation performance than conventional insulation materials. Phenolic foam insulation is widely used in the building industry, as it can satisfy the revised building code for thermal performance and fire resistance. However, there have been concerns about the emission of harmful gas, such as formaldehyde from the phenolic foam insulation material. This paper evaluates the effect of phenolic foam insulation on the indoor air quality of a house through an experiment within an apartment unit. At first, the formaldehyde emission from the phenolic foam board, and all other materials used for the experiment were measured according to their test standards. Then, the indoor air quality of the apartment unit was investigated after applying all materials, including phenolic foam board as insulation.