Investigations Regarding the Thermal Conductivity of Straw

摘要

The reduction of buildings heat losses and pollutants emissions is aworldwide priority. It’s intending to reduce the specific final energy consumption underlimit of 120...150 kWh/m2.yr and even under 15...45 kWh/m2.yr, foreseen in 2020 for thepassive houses, which is necessary for a sustainable development and for allowing tobecame profitable the use of unconventional energies [1]. These values can be achievedthrough the use of thermal insulations, for protecting the constructions fund and throughmaking envelope elements, as much as possible, from materials with a high thermalresistance, for new buildings. With intention to substitute the conventional thermalinsulations: mineral wool, expanded polystyrene, which are both great energy consumers,it’s proposed, among others unconventional technologies and materials, the use ofvegetable wastes both as a thermal insulation material and as a material used for buildingload-bearing and in-fill straw-bale construction. In speciality literature there are presentedexperimental determinations of this material’s thermal conductivity. The paper proposesa simple method, adequate for the measurement of thermal conductivity for bulk’smaterials as straw bales.