Developing energy-efficient temporary houses for sustainable urban regeneration: Manufacturing homes with loess, pearlite, and vermiculite

Abstract

Anthropogenic or natural disasters occurring worldwide have created the need for migrants to build new homes. To fulfill this need, temporary houses have been provided in various forms, and new houses have been constructed. However, these newly produced houses have poor energy efficiency and properties that could adversely affect the health of the occupants. Therefore, these houses are as unsustainable. In this study, the use of soil in construction is explored, which can improve the energy efficiency and thermal performance of houses owing to its porous nature. We analyzed the energy impact of houses constructed with soil, and found that the energy consumption of the houses decreased as the mixing ratio of the porous material increased. In some four-seasonal climates, energy consumption was lower when porous materials were not used. Additionally, in regions where energy is widely used for heating, insulation was believed to be necessary, and the usage of insulation was found to considerably increase energy savings. In areas where energy is widely used for cooling, the effectiveness of insulation was not much lower than that of cooling, and the amount of energy conservation increased with the amount of insulation.