Green Building

Achieving Optimal Thermal Comfort

An energy efficient home achieves comfortable temperatures without mechanical heating and cooling. To achieve this objective, one begins by understanding the local climatic conditions in which the house is to reside and the fundamentals of how your choice of building materials will perform.

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Energy Efficiency of construction materials

The general applicability of the comparative superior thermal performance claims made by various lightweight walled Alternative Building System providers, that assume their walling systems’ higher insulation values [R‐values], relative to double skin clay brick walling, translate into superior thermal performance outcomes, is not supported by science and extensive thermal modelling of houses constructed with different wall types here in South Africa.

application/pdf iconComparative Research
application/pdf iconEnergy Efficiency Graphs