Performance Evaluation of a Sustainable Prefabricated System Using Small-Scale Experimental Model Technique

Abstract

The increasing urban population requires rapid housing construction. Rising global temperatures have led to more space cooling options inside buildings. There is a need to design new-age buildings with a sustainable, thermal comfort, and energy-efficiency approach. The present work integrates this approach into the design of prefabricated elements. Locally available co-fired ash, along with other sustainable alternates, are used in developing these elements. This study involves a performance evaluation and feasibility assessment of the proposed prefabricated system. A small-scale model house of one-third size is constructed using these elements for the purpose of functional evaluation. An average temperature variation of approximately 4 °C is observed upon comparison with the fly-ash brick model during the peak summer season. During energy assessment, a 12% and 52% decrease in embodied energy and peak cooling loads were observed. The time study resulted in 20% time savings over the conventional technique. The proposed system also includes a solar photo-voltaic panel, which compensates for 30% of the energy demand and reduces approximately 42% of the energy cost. Thus, the developed prefabricated system is found suitable for non-load bearing as well as functional applications. The performed studies determined the system to be sustainable, lightweight, quick, as well as energy efficient.