Evaluation of the thermal performance of the envelope of an innovative construction system for low cost buildings

Introduction:

At present, the great majority of buildings located in urban centres and in rural areas incorporates architectural styles and materials that ignore the local climatic conditions as well as the cultural, social and economic interactions. As a result, such buildings, using expensive heating, cooling and lighting systems are highly dependent on mechanical and electrical systems to control the indoor environment of occupants. This situation in turn provokes the consumption of large quantities of fossil fuels that causes a severe negative impact on the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to modify these trends and to apply corrective measures oriented towards the application of sustainable actions in low cost buildings and communities likewise.

In this research work, bioclimatic design principles and strategies, integrated with sustainable technologies and environmental planning for a housing prototype have been applied, as part of a new ecological sustainable community. The main component of the case study building is its envelope which plays an important role for achieving comfortable conditions of the occupants. This is particularly important as the building envelope built is a component of a new construction system.

THE CASE STUDY BUILDING. USE OF NEW LOW-COST BUILDINGS MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS:

The envelope of the building includes walls, roof, floors and windows, among others, that is, all the building components directly in contact with the external ambient conditions. The envelope of the low cost building plays a very important role for achieving comfort conditions of the occupants in a building. In this project, an innovative building envelope has been investigated and its thermal performance evaluated.

THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF THE ENVELOPE OF THE HOUSE PROTOYPE:

The following stage of this project included the monitoring of the thermal performance of the envelope of the prototype house, and was conducted on a ten minute base for a period of eighteen days during the typical cold and hot periods of the location. Previous studies have shown that this type of innovative building system has the potential to provide comfort conditions during the prevailing critical underheating period in a location with similar climatic conditions.

BENEFITS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ECOPET. SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL BEBEFITS USING IT AS A BUILDING ENVELOPE:

Apart from the promising approach of the application of innovative building systems using low cost buildings materials such as PET 21 for achieving occupants’ comfortable conditions in typical buildings of rural communities, there is an additional benefit regarding the contribution to reduce the house deficit in the country. Therefore, this can be a key factor to promote an increase of house construction in Mexico.

Conclusion:

According to the results obtained in this research project, the use of innovative building materials in the envelope of the building investigated using PET, can effectively contribute to provide comfortable thermal conditions for the occupants during the prevailing underheating and overheating periods of the location, whilst positively reducing the construction cost and housing deficit in the country. This approach can also serve as a demonstrative example and thus applied to promote beneficial multiple effects in the country, and if applied at massive levels, it can not only contribute to reduce the high housing deficit in the country but also to reduce the severe environmental damage. Therefore, the sustainable design strategies, and techniques applied in this research project are aimed at helping primarily the poorest local people, based on the use of simple and recycling low cost local materials and to generate a new culture in the use of energy and natural resources and to promote and integrate sustainability at regional and global levels for achieving quality of living and for the well being of the existing and new generations.

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