Contribution of structural lightweight aggregate concrete to the reduction of thermal bridging effect in buildings

• Published in: Construction & building materials Vol. 121; pp. 460 - 470
• Main Authors: Real, Sofia, Gomes, M. Glória, Moret Rodrigues, A., Bogas, J. Alexandre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15.09.2016; Elsevier B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Composition; Concrete; Energy consumption; Energy industry; Energy needs; Lightweight aggregate concrete; Management; Thermal bridges; Thermal conductivity; Thermal properties; Portugal; Lightweight aggregate concrete; Energy needs; Thermal bridges; Thermal conductivity
• ISSN: 0950-0618; 1879-0526
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.06.018

•The energy performance of SLWAC in residential buildings was studied.•SLWAC proved to be able to significantly improve the thermal bridging effect.•SLWAC can contribute to the reduction of heating energy needs anywhere in Europe.•In the summer season, SLWAC and NWC presented similar cooling energy needs. In recent years, Energy Performance Building Directives have been published and adopted by all EU member states in order to promote the improvement of the energy performance of buildings within the EU, and thus coping with the growing comfort needs and consequent increase in energy consumption for space heating and cooling. Structural lightweight aggregate concrete (SLWAC), due to its thermal properties, presents itself as an alternative to normal weight concrete (NWC) to reduce the thermal bridging effects as well as the building energy needs to maintain thermal comfort levels in buildings. In this paper, the potential of SLWAC to improve the energy performance of buildings was assessed. An experimental study was carried out in order to determine the thermal properties of five different concrete mixtures, four SLWAC and a reference NWC for comparison purposes. These thermal properties were then used in the two-dimensional heat transfer program Therm and in the whole-building energy simulation program EnergyPlus to assess the impact of SLWAC on the thermal bridge heat losses and building energy needs of a case study. Results showed that SLWAC can improve the energy efficiency of buildings and thus be an attractive alternative to the use of the traditional NWC.