Improving the Building Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort through the Design of Walls in Compressed Earth Blocks of Agricultural and Biopolymer Residues Masonry: A Recent Study

Abstract

The impact of wall construction materials on dwelling hygrothermal behavior and energy efficiency is investigated in this research. Most people want to live in a sophisticated ambiance in this modern age and spend massive investment on improving their buildings’ inside condition. The building design was created in the Design Builder interface using three types of construction materials for the wall: CSEB of fonio straw and Shea butter cakes, cement blocks, and cut laterite blocks. Dynamic modeling with Energy Plus software was used to calculate the thermal comfort and overall amount of energy required for building cooling. The simulation was done using the meteorological characteristics of Ouagadougou city, and we discovered that the thermal behavior of the housing is influenced by the wall in earth-based simulations. The findings demonstrate that in housing with a CSEB of fonio straw and Shea butter cakes masonry wall, the number of warm thermal discomfort hours and cooling energy loads are reduced by an average of 10.60 percent and 93.86 percent, respectively, when compared to housing with a cement or cut laterite blocks masonry wall. In terms of the inside environment, the earth-based impact of this wall allows for an average internal temperature and indoor operating temperature of 28.64°C and 25.82°C, respectively. 6.54°C is attained as the average indoor temperature peaks dampening (i.e. 22.83 percent). As a result, these CSEB walls offer an effective contribution to the development of sustainable dwellings in a hot climate.