Improvement of Thermal Resistivity of Brick/AAC Block Wall Using Air Encapsulated Clay Tile

Abstract

Previous few years have seen unprecedented crisis of climate change. The recent Heatwaves of Europe and fatal flooding of Pakistan, all point toward the looming perils. The root cause of these crises is the rapid warming of the Earth. Buildings and related activities consume a substantial amount of energy, approximately 40%. Green building technologies, such as insulation materials, offer a viable solution to this issue. They can reduce the operational energy load of buildings by regulating internal temperatures, thus eliminating the need for external appliances for cooling and heating. This paper proposes the use of AAC block wall, half barrel clay tile and rice husk plaster to improve thermal resistivity of buildings. These materials are not only eco-friendly as they include waste material such as rice husk ash, but also have a lower environmental impact. The only downside is the increase in installation cost, but it is likely to be compensated in a short period of time by minimizing the heating and cooling loads for HVAC equipment inside a building. The combination of AAC block wall, half barrel clay tile and rice husk plaster results in an achievable U Value of the system around 0.021 Wm⁻² K⁻¹ with a system or wall thickness of around 275 mm, which is far better than the brick and cement plaster which is around 2.103 Wm⁻² K⁻¹. The suggested solution offers an eco-friendly and efficient approach that not only decreases energy consumption but also enhances the building's thermal resistance.