Energy Efficiency and Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Residential Buildings Using Sustainable Building Materials

Abstract

Building sector significantly contributes to resource use, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for over 40% of global energy use and 30% of carbon dioxide emissions. Pakistan, facing energy crisis due to rapid population growth, struggles with a substantial energy deficit and an imbalance between supply and demand. This crisis aggravates in the summer because of high cooling needs in buildings. While extensive studies have focused on reducing energy consumption through passive and active design strategies including studying the impact of walls and insulation materials in isolation. However, performance of walls and insulations with respect to different types of materials have not been studied in conjunction, thereby energy efficiency developed models are not being fully effective. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting energy efficiency and life cycle cost analysis of commercially available walls and insulations materials on a case study of G+2 residential building. For this, locally available sustainable energy efficient materials (walls and insulations) were identified and shortlisted based on the factors identified from the literature review. Different scenarios were made by combining walls and insulations materials and then analyzed using Revit 2024 and life cycle cost analysis. Based on the results, best two combinations were; 1. Structural Concrete Insulated Panel with Expanded Polystyrene Insulation (EPS) roof insulation (37% energy efficient) and 2. Fly ash brick with EPS insulation on walls and roof (34% energy efficient). This analysis provides valuable insights for selecting environmentally acceptable and cost-effective solutions for new construction, ultimately enhancing energy efficiency. Keywords: Alternate walling materials, cooling loads, external walls, energy modelling, life cycle costing, passive design strategy, residential buildings, sustainable bricks.