Abstract
The building sector is considered a key area for sustainable development, due to the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the numerous economic activities that this sector involves. A low-cost lightweight cementitious composite consisting in perlite mortar was fabricated and evaluated. The thermal conductivity and heat capacity of the proposed composite were tested in the laboratory. The lightweight composite was integrated into a prototypical house and its thermal performance was tested for two different arid climates during a typical meteorological year. A techno-economic analysis of this integration was carried out, which showed the lightweight system integration could reduce the energy demand up to 10.3% due to the decreased use of heating and cooling systems. The CO2 emissions associated with electricity and gas use on cooling and heating systems could be reduced up to 10.9%.
Highlights
The energy and thermal performance in buildings have attained a global significance in the last decades due to the objective of maintaining thermal comfort with a more efficient approach
The study considered the present worth of each case, considering the investment on the implementation of the lightweight perlite plaster and the resulting operating costs of the heating and cooling systems over 30 years
The results indicate that the conditions of thermal discomfort prevailed over three quarters of the year in the hot arid weather (BWh); as for the city with cold semi-arid climate (BSk), just above half of the year had an adequate thermal comfort range
Summary
The energy and thermal performance in buildings have attained a global significance in the last decades due to the objective of maintaining thermal comfort with a more efficient approach. As energy efficiency is gaining importance, the construction sector has been forced to analyze the capacity of buildings to save energy. An adequate energy efficiency study should analyze the incorporation of heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) systems, building materials, architectonic design, etc. In addition to the possibility of energy reduction, it is achievable to develop a design using a specific combination of materials and passive systems that improve thermal comfort in buildings. The properties of the construction materials represent critical information, due to their influence on the energy balances of the building. For simulation purposes, the thermo-physical properties of materials, are obtained from average values published in books, research articles or normativity, which do not necessarily represent the actual properties of real materials
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