A Comparative Study of Masonry Units for Energy Efficient Building Construction with Focus on Thermal Comfort with a Case Study

摘要

The modern world demands environment friendly, energy efficient designs along with economic building materials in the construction industry, which are key to sustainable buildings. This paper, through a case study conducted at Manipal region of Karnataka, India, compares and quantifies the thermal efficiencies of concrete, mud, and laterite on transmission loss/gain rate values with reference to the envelopes (exterior walls) of the building. The necessary data sampling for computation was done during the summer months of March and April 2017, involving parameters of thermal transmittance (U-value), thermal resistance (R-value), and thermal conductivity (K-value) pertaining to the construction materials comprising the walls along with temperature (internal and external) of various rooms in the building. The work summarizes the relationship between these parameters, transmission loss/gain rate, as well as the thermal efficiency. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that laterite is the optimum masonry unit for building construction in tropical regions such as South India.