WITHDRAWN: Analysis of the cooling and heating loads and life cycle energy for GFRG-based envelopes for different climatic zones of India

Abstract

Abstract Construction and operation of buildings, though an integral part of our society, is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of the world exceeding beyond alarming proportions. Thus, there is a need for alternative construction technologies and materials to minimize the energy consumption and mitigate the consequences of climate change. Glass fiber reinforced gypsum (GFRG) is one such construction material derived from waste products of fertilizer manufacturing industry. This study focusses on the energy consumption of GFRG-based construction for a conditioned space under the influence of the wide-ranging climate of India. Transient thermal analysis over a time period of 24 hours is carried out to evaluate the heating and/or cooling loads for the representative summer, winter, and autumn days for five different climatic zones of India. The results are compared with a reference conventional brick wall having cement plaster coating on both sides. The analysis indicates that GFRG envelope results in a 47% – 84% reduction in cooling/heating loads. Further, the results are used to calculate the life cycle energy (LCE) for both the cases. A reduction in LCE by 59%– 69% is found to be achievable with GFRG panels over the conventional brick masonry–based construction.