Housing Materials Research Articles

Evaluation Of Nearly Zero Energy Residential Buildings Design Strategies In Three Climatic Zones In Jordan

Designing zero or near zero-energy residential buildings will considerably help in reducing the general energy consumption. Geographically, Jordan retains three different altitude zones with unique climatic conditions for each which imperatively entails deploying different approaches to attain near zero-energy houses. This study aims to investigate the best economic feasible design strategies that possibly lead to near zero-energy residential buildings. Based on the most common detached house design-layout and materials on each zone, three case study houses were designed. The research methodology was based on three levels of efficiency. By using Design Builder, each efficiency level was examined by three design strategies: passive, active, and renewable energy design strategies in order to improve the energy performance of the buildings. The results showed that implementing the three levels concurrently would result in achieving the nearly zero-energy houses with efficient cost and less than 10 years payback period. In the high-land altitude zone, the annual consumption of power was reduced from 79.1 kwh/m2 to -13.6 kwh/m2. For the medium altitude zone, the annual consumption dropped down from 78.8 kwh/m2 to -16.5 kwh/m2. Finally, the annual consumption of electricity in the low-latitude zone decreased from 75.7 kwh/m2 to -21.1 kwh/m2.

Natural Building Materials and Social Representations in Informal Settlements: How Perceptions of Bamboo Interfere with Sustainable, Affordable, and Quality Housing

Building with natural materials has proven to be a sustainable approach in addressing the needs of affordable and healthy housing and improving living conditions in informal settlements in an era of ecological transition. In view of this, the use of bamboo as a building material is considered a promising practice. However, although many traditional building techniques incorporate the use of bamboo, its application in contemporary informal settlements is disputed. This interdisciplinary study critically explores the social and cultural factors limiting the use of bamboo in a contemporary context by investigating housing perceptions and practices in an informal settlement in Colombia. Results show how the combined effect of cultural globalization, modernization, and the standardization of construction practices have marginalized and are now devaluing traditional knowledge on natural local building materials. Structured observations and in-depth interviews reveal that inhabitants’ refusal of the local bamboo building tradition, their representation of bamboo as an unsafe and temporary material, and their choices of less sustainable contemporary building materials, are better understood by situating these preferences within the complex system of the community’s imaginary. These social representations validate housing behaviors for their symbolic implications rather than for their actual consequences on livability, comfort, and overall dwelling quality. The study also discusses the limits of policies promoting natural building materials in housing when exclusively focusing on technical performance, while neglecting the prevailing impact of the cultural domain on housing preferences and behaviors.

Housing quality and its impact on Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) symptoms among children in Punjab, Pakistan.

Exposure to poor housing quality and household air pollution (HAP) are significant factors for morbidity and mortality in Pakistan. Children under five are particularly at risk of acute respiratory infections (ARIs). Globally, it has been estimated that 6.6 million children less than five years of age die every year from this disease. Little is known regarding the effect of HAP and poor housing quality on children's respiratory symptoms in Pakistan. Statistics concerning Pakistan's largest province, Punjab, are also not promising. Hence, an association between housing quality and respiratory symptoms among children under the age of five in Punjab has been studied in this paper. Using data from MICS 2017-18, logistic regression models were applied to the sample of 35000 children under the age of five living in poor housing quality. We estimated that acute respiratory infection (ARI) symptoms are higher among children when the floor of a house is made of natural material. However, the lower ARI symptoms were found among children living in a house with a wall made of natural material. On the other hand, we found that children residing in the western region of Punjab are at a higher risk of ARI symptoms. The findings remain consistent with the previous researchers. In addition to promoting increased access to quality housing material during construction activities, we suggest that critical community-based interventions are required to combat local issues and problems at the micro-level.

Building circularity as a measure of sustainability in the old and modern architecture: A case study of architecture development in the hot and dry climate

Nowadays, the construction industry has turned to the consumption of large amounts of natural resources in line with global population growth, which has led to the shortage of resources, and consequently increases in the construction debris; therefore, the present article has studied the positive and negative points of the architectural development process. The results have indicated that being compared to the former architecture; the development of architecture has reduced energy consumption by 78%. Hence, the scarcity of virgin resources and consequently the increase of environmental effects such as Global Warming Potential (GWP) have been measured based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). It has been illustrated that the architecture trend has increased the environmental impact of new materials by 5 times the old ones in GWP. To optimize and increase resource productivity, a review of buildings by the principles of Circular Economy (CE) has shown that 10% of old house materials and 3% of new house materials could be returned to the chain based on the CE concept. Other than reducing the GWP emissions of the construction industry and the development of zero waste systems, this paper, by replacing conventional materials with biocompatible, has been able to increase the Building Circularity (BC) by 27% in the old house and 3% in the new one, which emphasizes a regenerative approach. As a result, with this solution, more integrity would be observed between the construction environment and nature, both in the development of past architecture and in the improvement of future architecture.

Cyclone resistant housing in Fiji: The forgotten features of traditional housing

Fiji housing stock suffers extensive damage during the annual cyclone season, leading to high costs in repairing and reconstructing the damaged properties. Historically Fijian houses were resilient, and the communities could self-recover from natural hazards. The country's more recent disasters have been beyond the country's ability to self-recover. Reasons for this include reliance on international aid, new housing types and materials, population changes and the loss of traditional building methods. Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016 led to over 30,000 damaged houses, and many villages were totally destroyed. Navala was one of the damaged villages in the inner west, where most of its houses were constructed mainly as traditional houses. In this village, fifty percent of houses survived the cyclone. This study investigates Navala traditional houses, their constructability, and the apparent ability of its houses to resist cyclone hazards. The study's main findings show that traditional knowledge of building traditional houses still exists. Also, traditional houses, especially those with central posts, performed well during the cyclone and complied with the internationally recommended cyclone-resistant structural features. The study analysed the construction of traditional houses and highlighted the unique cyclone-resistant features that could be recommended for regional implementation in future constructed houses.

INTEGRASI BUDAYA KAMPUNG NAGA SEBAGAI MITIGASI BENCANA DI KABUPATEN TASIKMALAYA PROVINSI JAWA BARAT

Disasters are a threat to all people living in Indonesia, as a logical consequence of Indonesia's geological conditions. Almost all regions of Indonesia have the potential for disasters. Especially for the West Java Province, especially the Regency on the south coast which has various kinds of disaster threats, such as Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Landslides, and even Fires. Likewise in Tasikmalaya Regency, in this case the Naga traditional village community. The touch of local wisdom in disaster mitigation is very interesting to learn in Kampung Naga. The research method uses a descriptive method with a field survey technique (Field Study). The results showed that, for earthquake disasters, it was minimized by the use of the dominant house material from bamboo and consuming the system of houses on stilts to dampen vibrations. In the case of landslides, on sloping land, this is handled by using stone terraces. As for the fire disaster, using a method of using a different room woven system for each room to minimize the appearance of fire so that it can be detected from outside the house.

Lack of Associations between Environmental Exposures and Environmental Enteric Dysfunction among 18-Month-Old Children in Rural Malawi.

Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is common and contributes to linear growth faltering (stunting) and mortality among children in low-resource settings. A few studies on the environmental causes of EED have been conducted but the exact exposures that cause or predispose children to EED are context-specific and not clear. This study aimed to assess associations between selected environmental exposures and EED markers among 620 18-month-old children. This was a secondary analysis of data from Malawian children who participated in a randomized controlled trial (iLiNS-DYAD, registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01239693) from birth to 18 months of age. Data on environmental exposures, including drinking water source, sanitation, exposure to animals, housing materials, season, residential area, and food insecurity were collected at enrolment. Biomarkers of EED included concentrations of calprotectin, regenerating 1B protein (REG1B), and alpha-1-antitrypsin from stool samples to assess intestinal inflammation, repair, and permeability, respectively. We performed bivariate and multivariable analyses to assess associations between environmental exposures and EED biomarkers. Adjusting for possible confounders, we did not find associations between the selected environmental exposures and the three biomarkers. These results do not provide support for our hypothesis that the studied adverse environmental exposures are associated with increased concentrations of children’s EED markers in rural Malawi.

Mapping Energy Poverty: How Much Impact Do Socioeconomic, Urban and Climatic Variables Have at a Territorial Scale?

Energy poverty, considered a form of deprivation distinct from income poverty, is associated with three factors: low-income levels, high energy costs, and poor residential energy efficiency. It is necessary to study the socio-spatial distribution of energy poverty, particularly in metropolitan areas, due to persistent socioeconomic segregation and their public agenda implications, including the U.N. SDGs. A model of these characteristics can propose a spatial analysis of urban and climate implications, contributing evidence for public policy. This article aims to address energy poverty from a spatial approach extended to the urban area in Santiago de Chile through an exploratory model that estimates the impact of socioeconomic, urban, and climatic variables at a territorial scale on the performance of homes. Using a geographical weighted regression with the inside home temperature in winter as the dependent variable, the independent variables were the percentage of professionals, NDVI, annual thermal amplitude, and housing material quality. A housing quality pattern that acts as a proxy for vulnerability to energy poverty was found, repeating the distribution pattern of the different socioeconomic sectors. The findings incorporate a new interpretive matrix into the complex reproduction of segregation and inequality in a capital city from a developing country.

Organic Farm Bedded Pack System Microbiomes: A Case Study with Comparisons to Similar and Different Bedded Packs

Animal housing and bedding materials influence cow and farm worker exposure to microbial pathogens, biocontrol agents, and/or allergens. This case study represents an effort to characterize the bacterial and fungal community of bedding systems using an amplicon sequencing approach supplemented with the ecological assessment of cultured Trichocomaceae isolates (focusing on Penicillium and Aspergillus species) and yeasts (Saccharomycetales). Bedding from five certified organic dairy farms in northern Vermont USA were sampled monthly between October 2015 and May 2016. Additional herd level samples from bulk tank milk and two bedding types were collected from two farms to collect fungal isolates for culturing and ecology. Most of the microorganisms in cattle bedding were microbial decomposers (saprophytes) or coprophiles, on account of the bedding being composed of dead plant matter, cattle feces, and urine. Composition of bacterial and fungal communities exhibited distinct patterns of ecological succession measured through time and by bedding depth. Community composition patterns were related to management practices and choice of bedding material. Aspergillus and Penicillium species exhibited niche differentiation expressed as differential substrate requirements; however, they generally exhibited traits of early colonizers of bedding substrates, typically rich in carbon and low in nitrogen. Pichia kudriavzevii was the most prevalent species cultured from milk and bedding. P. kudriavzevii produced protease and its abundance directly related to temperature. The choice of bedding and its management represent a potential opportunity to curate the microbial community of the housing environment.

PELESTARIAN RUMAH PANGGUNG (RUMAH TRADISIONAL BERBAHAN DASAR KAYU) DI DESA PENANGGUNGAN, TANGGAMUS

The traditional wooden house has become a symbol for the indigenous people of Lampung. The research objective is to explain the factors that influence the community to maintain its traditional wooden houses. This research used the qualitative approach within a case study method in Penanggungan Village, Tanggamus District, Lampung Province. By collecting data through in-depth interviews, involved observations, and documentation studies, then analyzed some factors that influence the community to maintain the stilt house. The results showed that the local community held its wooden-based stage due to various factors, especially: cultural, heritage, raw materials, community economic conditions, public knowledge, and government policies. The government needs to make local regulations to maintain the existence of the remaining stilt houses and provide subsidies to the community to maintain its sustainability. In addition, the cultivation of the types of wood that used and its types substitution needs to be encouraged to avoid the scarcity of raw materials for stilt houses.

A Distance-Field-Based Pipe-Routing Method.

Pipes are commonly used to transport fuels, air, water, gas, hydraulic power, and other fluid-like materials in engine rooms, houses, factories, airplanes, and ships. Thus, pipe routing is essential in many industrial applications, including ship construction, machinery manufacturing, house building, laying out engine rooms, etc. To be functional, a pipe system should be economical while satisfying spatial constraints and safety regulations. Numerous routing algorithms have been published to optimize the pipe length and the number of elbows. However, relatively few methods have been designed to lay out pipes which strictly meet the spatial constraints and safety regulations. This article proposes a distance-field-based piping algorithm to remedy this problem. The proposed method converts the workspace into a 3D image and computes a distance field upon the workspace first. It then creates a feasible space out of the workspace by peeling the distance field and segmenting the 3D image. The resultant feasible space is collision-free and satisfies the spatial constraints and safety regulations. In the following step, a path-finding process, subjected to a cost function, is triggered to arrange the pipe inside the feasible space. Consequently, the cost of the pipe is optimized, and the pipe path rigidly meets the spatial constraints and safety regulations. The proposed method works effectively even if the workspace is narrow and complicated. In three experiments, the proposed method is employed to lay out pipes inside an underwater vehicle, a machinery room, and a two-story house, respectively. Not only do the resultant pipes possess minimal costs, but they also meet the spatial constraints and safety regulations, as predicted. In addition to developing the routing procedure, we also design a visualization subsystem to reveal the progression of the piping process and the variation of the workspace in the run time. Based on the displayed images, users can therefore evaluate the quality of the pipes on the fly and tune the piping parameters if necessary.

Hydrothermal Evaluation of Vernacular Housing: Comparing Case Studies of Waste PET Bottles, Stone, and Adobe Houses

This work shows the humidity and thermal evaluation of different case studies of houses. The analyses focused on room prototypes and houses built in different regions of Querétaro, México. Three different climatic zones were included with the evaluations of houses and prototypes. The assessments of internal and external parameters in residential buildings are also shown. The internal parameter measurements were done with hydro-thermometers and thermography images. Six structures were evaluated, one of the conventional housing materials and five of alternative or vernacular materials. The predicted mean vote (PMV) and the predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) were determined using the average temperature and relative humidity values, and they were considered to be dynamic because they can change depending on many factors. The six dwelling insulating properties were associated with their construction materials, design, location, and other factors. The six houses have many differences, but considering their behavior in their location, the two floor porous stone house got the best results. On the contrary, the flagstone house with a gabled roof of galvanized sheets had a cold perception despite many advantageous elements, failing to provide comfort in such a cold location. Contrasting these with other adobe constructions, the analyzed one had low thermal insulation, which was explained by its characteristics. PET and adobe uninhabited prototypes had medium to cold perceptions. The PET prototype has excellent and adjustable insulations, both on temperature and RH, considering the passive illumination and ventilation of its glass bottle skylights.

Synergistic effect of adding graphene nanoplates and carbon nanotubes in polycarbonate/acrylonitrile‐styrene‐butadiene copolymer blend

AbstractHybrid nanocomposites of graphene nanoplates (GNP) and multi‐wall carbons nanotubes (MWCNT) might balance the best properties of these nanofillers and proportion synergistic effects to some specific properties as the electromagnetic shielding efficiency (EMI SE). These nanocomposites are being studied in many polymer matrixes, and a promising one should be the blend of polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile‐styrene‐butadiene copolymer (ABS) that are applied mainly in the electronics industry. In this work, the hybrid nanocomposites of GNP/MWCNT in a PC/ABS/ABS‐g‐MAH polymer blend matrix were prepared by melt mixing, using extrusion and injection molding. The rheological, electromagnetic, thermal, and mechanical properties were analyzed to clarify the effect of using individually and both fillers. The morphologies of the hybrid nanocomposites revealed that the fillers were close to each other at the polymer matrix, interacting and forming some hybrid agglomerates. The effect of these hybrids agglomerates was confirmed as a deviation to solid‐like behavior (G′ > G″) in the rheological analyses, and the electrical percolation threshold was only achieved for the hybrid nanocomposites with higher content of nanofillers, 5 wt% of GNP and 1 wt% of MWCNT with electrical resistivity of 106 Ω cm. The same composition had a synergetic effect on the EMI SE properties (11 dB at 8.4 GHz), with a higher attenuation by absorption component, also in the dynamical mechanical, thermal behavior, increasing the Storage modulus and the statical mechanical properties increasing the shore D hardness, the elastic modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The hybrid nanocomposites of GNP/MWCNT were promising materials for electronic housing with EMI SE properties.

Housing cost burden and material hardship among older adults: How do they influence psychological health?

Despite a growing body of evidence for the association between housing cost burden and psychological health, few studies have focused on the potential mediators of this association and the extent to which housing cost burden poses a threat to older adults' psychological health. This study aims to assess (a) the link between housing cost burden and psychological health among older adults and (b) how the association is mediated by material hardship. Using thirteen waves of a nationally representative longitudinal study in Korea, this study assessed the association between housing cost burden and depressive symptoms among older adults aged 65 or over. Mediation tests were conducted to identify whether material hardship explains the link between housing cost burden and depressive symptoms. We used fixed-effects models to take into account individual-level heterogeneity. Housing cost burden was significantly associated with depressive symptoms among older adults, regardless of their housing tenure status. Different types of material hardship partially mediated the association between housing cost burden and depressive symptoms in older adults. Older adults with severe housing cost burden are more susceptible to all types of material hardship compared to those with a moderate burden. To contribute further to the social causation discussions, future studies should seek to identify protective factors of depressive symptoms among older adults and other potential mechanisms of the association between older adults' socioeconomic conditions and their psychological health.

Learning on the Rings

This paper presents ssLOTR (self-supervised learning on the rings), a system that shows the feasibility of designing self-supervised learning based techniques for 3D finger motion tracking using a custom-designed wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor with a minimal overhead of labeled training data. Ubiquitous finger motion tracking enables a number of applications in augmented and virtual reality, sign language recognition, rehabilitation healthcare, sports analytics, etc. However, unlike vision, there are no large-scale training datasets for developing robust machine learning (ML) models on wearable devices. ssLOTR designs ML models based on data augmentation and self-supervised learning to first extract efficient representations from raw IMU data without the need for any training labels. The extracted representations are further trained with small-scale labeled training data. In comparison to fully supervised learning, we show that only 15% of labeled training data is sufficient with self-supervised learning to achieve similar accuracy. Our sensor device is designed using a two-layer printed circuit board (PCB) to minimize the footprint and uses a combination of Polylactic acid (PLA) and Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as housing materials for sturdiness and flexibility. It incorporates a system-on-chip (SoC) microcontroller with integrated WiFi/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) modules for real-time wireless communication, portability, and ubiquity. In contrast to gloves, our device is worn like rings on fingers, and therefore, does not impede dexterous finger motion. Extensive evaluation with 12 users depicts a 3D joint angle tracking accuracy of 9.07° (joint position accuracy of 6.55mm) with robustness to natural variation in sensor positions, wrist motion, etc, with low overhead in latency and power consumption on embedded platforms.

A report on radon emission from bauxitic material in Perth, Manchester, Jamaica

Bauxitic soils in Jamaica are enriched with rare earth elements and other heavy minerals/elements by up to two orders of magnitude relative to bedrock. Geochemical evidence supports the origin of Jamaican bauxite as volcanic ash fall-out from Central America and windblown dust from West Africa. Jamaican bauxite, by virtue of its possible igneous origins, is suspected of being a source of radioactive material. The potential concentration and mobility of radon gas from bauxite waste is an environmental health and safety risk. Therefore, this paper investigates the theoretical radon concentrations and exposure rates in the bauxite mining community in Perth, Manchester. Results from the study show that the exposure rates in the Perth community are all below the recommended 1 WLM/yr. Therefore, radon from the bauxite waste is not a concern for radiation exposure and could be a potential recycled material for brick and other low-income housing materials in Jamaica.

Determinants of evacuation decision of households at Maypangdan, Borongan City, Eastern Samar, Philippines: A case of Typhoon Hagupit

The Philippines is frequently visited by strong and destructive typhoons, claiming hundreds of lives and extensive damage to the environment, and properties. To minimize negative impacts, understanding evacuee behavior for evacuation planning is essential. Determinants of household evacuation decision were investigated in this study using 164 valid observations obtained through face-to-face interviews with household heads in the affected area of Typhoon Hagupit in Barangay Maypangdan, Borongan City, Eastern Samar, Philippines. Correlation analysis and logistic regression were used to identify significant factors that affect household evacuation decisions. Results showed that the presence of children less than 10 years of age and elderly, house material, and house floor level affect the household evacuation decision. The insights from the results of this study are useful for policymakers and planners in preparing contingency plans for typhoon events at the barangay level. This may include ensuring the welfare of the vulnerable age groups, and strict implementation of building code for structural design and constructions.

Heat waves and health risks in the northern part of Senegal: analysing the distribution of temperature-related diseases and associated risk factors.

The Sahelian zone of Senegal experienced heat waves in the previous decades, such as 2013, 2016 and 2018 that were characterised by temperatures exceeding 45°C for up to 3 successive days. The health impacts of these heat waves are not yet analysed in Senegal although their negative effects have been shown in many countries. This study analyses the health impacts of observed extreme temperatures in the Sahelian zone of the country, focusing on morbidity and mortality by combining data from station observation, climate model projections, and household survey to investigate heat wave detection, occurrence of climate-sensitive diseases and risk factors for exposure. To do this, a set of climatic (temperatures) and health (morbidity, mortality) data were collected for the months of April, May and June from 2009 to 2019. These data have been completed with 1246 households' surveys on risk factor exposure. Statistical methods were used to carry out univariate and bivariate analyses while cartographic techniques allowed mapping of the main climatic and health indicators. The results show an increase in temperatures compared to seasonal normal for the 1971-2000 reference period with threshold exceedances of the 90th percentiles (42°C) for the maxima and (27°C) the minima and higher temperatures during the months of May and June. From health perspective, it was noted an increase in cases of consultation in health facilities as well as a rise in declared morbidity by households especially in the departments of Kanel (17.7%), Ranérou (16.1 %), Matam (13.7%) and Bakel (13.7%). The heat waves of May 2013 were also associated with cases of death with a reported mortality (observed by medical staff) of 12.4% unequally distributed according to the departments with a higher number of deaths in Matam (25, 2%) and in Bakel (23.5%) than in Podor (8.4%) and Kanel (0.8%). The morbidity and mortality distribution according to gender shows that women (57%) were more affected than men (43%). These health risks have been associated with a number of factors including age, access to drinkable water, type of fuel, type of housing and construction materials, existence of fan and an air conditioner, and health history.The heat wave recurrence has led to a frequency in certain diseases sensitive to rising temperatures, which is increasingly a public health issue in the Sahelian zone of Senegal.

A Numerical Thermal Analysis of a Battery Pack in an Electric Motorbike Application

Today, electric driven motorbikes (e-motorbikes) are facing multiple safety, functionality and operating challenges, particularly in hot climatic conditions. One of them is the increasing demand for efficient battery cooling to avoid the potential thermal stability concerns due to extreme temperatures and the conventional plastic enclosure of the battery pack. A reliable and efficient thermal design can be formulated by accommodating the battery within an appropriate battery housing supported by a cooling configuration. The proposed design includes a battery pack housing made of high conductive materials, such as copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al), with an adequate liquid cooling system. This study first proposes a potted cooling structure for the e-motorbike battery and numerical studies are carried out for a 72 V, 42 Ah battery pack for different ambient temperatures, casing materials, discharge rates, coolant types, and coolant temperatures. Results reveal that up to 53 °C is achievable with only the Cu battery housing material. Further temperature reduction is possible with the help of a liquid cooling system, and in this case, with the use of coolant temperature of 20 °C, the battery temperature can be maintained within 28 °C. The analysis also suggests that the proposed cooling system can keep a safe battery temperature up to a 5C rate. The design was also validated for different accelerated driving scenarios. The proposed conceptual design could be exploited in future e-motorbike battery cooling for optimum thermal stability.

The effective method to improve the sanitary and hygienic conditions of poultry housing

Poultry farming is a sub-branch of animal husbandry, in which modern technical and information technologies to obtain high-quality products with minimal prime-cost have been mastered. However, issues related to the environmentally safe, rational disposal of litter remain unresolved. The high productivity of poultry and the duration of its use under the conditions of industrial technology depend on the provision of high-quality feeding and comfortable conditions of housing in compliance with all technological and zoohygenic parameters. The litter remains indoors during the entire rearing period of broiler chickens and emits a large amount of pollutants. The poultry body has great functional loads, its adaptive reactions to external stimuli change, which become stressful for it. As a result, the physiological state of the body is disturbed, productivity decreases, diseases caused by a decrease in natural resistance are more often manifested. Therefore, it is especially important to comply with zoohygienic and technological standards during the period of poultry rearing, since it is most sensitive to the slightest changes not only in feeding, but also in the microclimate of the premises. The purpose of the work was to carry out production tests of different bedding materials in order to improve the sanitary and hygienic conditions of poultry housing. The research was carried out under production conditions on broiler chickens in an experimental workshop, in which four sections (groups) were formed: one control and three experimental. In the control section sawdust was used as a bedding material (layer 3 cm), in the 1st experimental section diatomite was used (layer 0,5 cm) + sawdust (layer 2,5 cm), in the 2nd experimental section was used diatomite (layer 1,0 cm), in the 3rd experimental section diatomite was used (layer 0,5 cm). It was found as a result of the conducted studies that when modified diatomite was used as the bedding material, the sanitary and hygienic conditions of poultry housing were improved. Based on the data presented, the best indicator for the concentration of ammonia content was obtained in the 2nd experimental section (group) where modified diatomite was used in the bedding layer of 1,0 cm.