Abstract
The thermal performance of economical housing located in hot climates remains a pending subject, especially in emerging economies. A cellular concrete mixture was designed, considering its thermophysical properties, to apply the new material into building envelopes. The proposed materials have low density and thermal conductivity to be used as a nonstructural lightweight construction element. From the design stage, a series of wall systems based on cellular concrete was proposed. Whereas in the second phase, the materials were analyzed to obtain the potential energy savings using dynamic simulations. It is foreseen that the energy consumption in buildings located in these climates will continue to increase critically due to the temperature increase associated with climate change. The temperatures predicted mean vote (PMV), electric energy consumption, and CO2 emissions were calculated for three IPCC scenarios. These results will help to identify the impact of climate change on the energy use of the houses built under these weather conditions. The results show that if the conventional concrete blocks continue to be used, the air conditioning energy requirements will increase to 49% for 2030 and 61% by 2050. The proposed cellular concrete could reduce energy consumption between 15% and 28%, and these saving rates would remain in the future. The results indicate that it is necessary to drive the adoption of lightweight materials, so the impact of energy use on climate change can be reduced.
Highlights
The climate change effects over the different areas of life are considered one of the most critical and urgent aspects to attend, especially in the urban areas related to the use and consumption of material goods [1,2,3]
Most of the materials used in urban construction in Mexico are manufactured from mixtures with cementitious high-density materials and a very high thermal conductivity [8], leading to the need to establish a comparison between conventional and lightweight materials to determine their effects on energy savings in buildings
Those materials offer a change in their properties, basically as a function of the density and low thermal conductivity, such as cellular concrete. This type of concrete has properties that place them as materials with insulating properties and mechanical resistance to support loads. These materials are manufactured through processes that, in addition to modifying their density and thermal conductivity with the inclusion of a foaming additive, are cured in an autoclave process (AAC: autoclaved aerated concrete) that consists of subjecting the material to high temperatures and pressure to achieve adequate mechanical resistance
Summary
The climate change effects over the different areas of life are considered one of the most critical and urgent aspects to attend, especially in the urban areas related to the use and consumption of material goods [1,2,3]. Studies have been carried out that show the benefits of using lighter materials, which reduce dead loads in buildings, handling, and packaging costs Another advantage is the resultant thermophysical properties that these materials present, which are advantageous because they reduce heat fluxes between the envelope and the exterior environment [9,10,11]. These materials are manufactured through processes that, in addition to modifying their density and thermal conductivity with the inclusion of a foaming additive, are cured in an autoclave process (AAC: autoclaved aerated concrete) that consists of subjecting the material to high temperatures and pressure to achieve adequate mechanical resistance These blocks are made of sand, gypsum, cement, lime, aluminum powder, and water to achieve a chemical reaction that generates hydrogen gas, achieved from the calcium hydroxide in the presence of water and aluminum powder. The thermal conductivity of lightweight concrete varies from 0.09 to 0.22 W/m·K and compared against other commonly used materials, and it has reductions of up to 90%
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