Energy efficient building materials – what you need to know?

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If you are interested to explore various types of construction materials, below we have summarized the rating of the construction materials according to their degree of energy efficiency.

Thus:

5. Reinforced concrete - Specialists prefer this building material due to its strength and durability. It is known for its high thermal conductivity of 1.7 W/m.K, which suggests that buildings constructed by using reinforced concrete should be covered with energy-efficient materials to achieve efficient heating and maintain the temperature.

4. Brick – Recently a growing interest in brick houses has been observed. Brick is fireproof and moisture-resistant, however it has a fairly high level of thermal conductivity - 015-0.67 W/m.K. For the sake of justice, it should be noted that this building material will require significantly less resources to provide high level of energy efficiency of buildings than in the case of reinforced concrete.

3. Claydite concrete - Although this is an excellent, soundproof building material with high moisture- resistant properties, it is rarely used in the construction of the carrying walls of multi-apartment buildings, as it does not have high durability. Instead, this building material is widely used for construction of interior partition walls or exterior walls of individual houses. The thermal conductivity is 0.19-0.27 W/m.K.

2. Wood - It is one of the most energy efficient materials - 0.15-0.4 W/m.K. It takes a maximum of 3 hours to heat a house to 22⁰C. For comparison, it can take up to 8 hours to maintain the same temperature in a brick house. It should also be noted that wood also has the capacity to regulate interior air humidity and provide oxygen saturation. One of the disadvantages of this material that it is not fireproof and can decompose fast, in the absence of proper care.

1. Expanded polystyrene  - is one of the most energy efficient and affordable construction materials. Energy loss is minimal - 0.025-04.4 W/m.K, therefore this is an excellent energy efficient building material. In this regard, 15 cm of polystyrene is equivalent to 5.33 m of reinforced concrete. According to the statistical data of European Association Pour la promotion du PSE dans la construction show that 8 out of 10 houses in Europe are built from this building material.

Note that W/m.K. is the thermal conductivity measurement unit, which is calculated by the following formula Watt/(meter*temperature).