Comparative Study of the Impact of Bio-Sourced and Recycled Insulation Materials on Energy Efficiency in Office Buildings in Burkina Faso

Abraham Nathan Zoure and Paolo Vincenzo Genovese ()
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Abraham Nathan Zoure: School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Weijin Road Campus, No. 92 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300072, China
Paolo Vincenzo Genovese: College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Xi Hu District Yuhangtang Road n. 866, Hangzhou 310058, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-26

Abstract: This research presents a comparative study of different bio-sourced and recycled insulation materials and their impact on energy consumption of office buildings located in Ouagadougou, a city with a dry hot climate. A thorough assessment of the country’s meteorological and urban development data from 2004 to 2018 was conducted for climatic data. EnergyPlus was used for thermal comfort based on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers Standard (ASHRAE) 55 adaptive comfort model and energy analysis by calculating and comparing the yearly energy consumption, heat transfer through the building envelope, and discomfort degree hours. A four-story “H”-shaped office building made of cement blocks with a fixed north–south orientation and a 30% window-to-wall ratio served as the base case for this study to perform two rounds of multiple simulations and evaluate the most effective insulation material. First, exterior walls were insulated, and then the roof and inner floors were insulated using the best material from the first round. The findings confirmed hemp wool as the best performing bio-sourced insulation material, which reduces by 25.8% and 17.7% the annual cooling energy demand at 114,495 kWh and the annual energy consumption at 203,598 kWh, respectively, contributing to saving up to 43,852 kWh in annual energy consumption. Hemp wool impacted wall, roof, and internal floor heat transfer by reducing them by 90.86% at 12,583 kWh, 85.1% at 6666 kWh, and 88.1% at −2664 kWh, respectively, while the discomfort degree hours were reduced by 17.6% at 9720.12. The outcomes provide patterns, explanations, and inferences that may be generalized to other projects in Burkina Faso, especially, and sub-Saharan African countries, in general, where most buildings are not well insulated. The availability of these bio-based and recycled insulation materials may also serve as proof to foster a circular economy in the Burkina Faso construction industry.

Keywords: bio-sourced and recycled materials; thermal insulation; energy efficiency; heat transfer; building envelope (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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