Numerical Investigation on the Energy Consumption of Buildings in Bangladesh by Incorporating Expanded Polystyrene Insulation on the Walls and Roof

Abstract

Urbanization, industry, and population growth raise energy consumption. Building construction and energy usage will rise with population expansion. Most buildings gain/loss heat through windows, ceilings, floors, and walls. This section covers roof and wall heat loss. Reducing the energy consumption of buildings could preserve energy savings. Energy uses include industrial, household, transportation, and agricultural. Heat losses in the building envelope result in energy loss. Insulators are essential for energy conservation. This work uses hollow concrete blocks and reinforced cement concrete (RCC) made of stone chips for walls and roof materials to identify effective insulation for building envelopes in Bangladesh. Commonly available and low-cost insulation Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is used to insulate the envelopes. The thermal resistance of the envelopes with EPS insulation was measured using an experimental technique. A model building's heat transfer and energy utilization are calculated using DesignBuilder software for Khulna's meteorological data. This program uses EnergyPlus as an energy simulation engine. The envelope U-value is calculated with and without EPS using Hukseflux sensors. In this research, hollow concrete block walls have 0.14 m².K/W and stone chip blocks have 0.17 m².K/W heat resistance. However, plywood-coated EPS insulators have approximately 2 m².K/W thermal resistance. Insulation saves 96.47% of the energy used for heating in the winter and 56.13% of the energy used for cooling in the summer. So, the addition of EPS insulation in the model building may reduce 56.57% of the energy consumption required for heating and cooling.