4 - Traditional fired-clay bricks versus large and highly perforated fired-clay bricks masonry: Influence on buildings thermal performance

Abstract

An analysis of the thermal performance of a family house made of three different types of bricks is presented. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of several types of clay bricks on the thermal performance of a designed building. The external walls of the analyzed family house are made of traditional fired clay bricks, highly perforated clay bricks without cavity filling, and highly perforated clay bricks with expanded polystyrene as cavity filling material. The properties of the materials involved in the simulations as input data are either measured in the laboratory or taken from relevant standards as design values. The dynamic simulation is performed using Design Builder's built-in EnergyPlus module under the climatic conditions of Prague, Czech Republic, using input parameters given by the PHPP model. The results of the analysis of thermal performance show that the utilization of highly perforated clay bricks instead of traditional fired clay bricks leads to a substantial improvement of the thermal behavior of the analyzed building; a reduction of heating energy demands up to 56% is observed. This finding gives an evidence of the progress that has been done in the field of the brick industry during the last few decades.