Top Energy-Efficient Materials for Building a House 2023
Presently, the construction industry has widely embraced the use of energy-efficient materials for building homes. The arrival of green movement has pushed every construction company to re-discover ancient building techniques and materials.
Giving you a general idea, the commonly used energy-efficient building materials are green energy bricks, insulating concrete, straw and stucco, compressed soil, vacuum insulated and structural insulated panels. So, let us all take inspiration from these materials and make sure to plan out your next construction project by considering these building materials:
Green energy bricks
Have you ever heard about green energy bricks? These are basically PIR form energy bricks. These days, instead of using hollow concrete blocks or cellular concrete bricks, we have seen excessive usage of green energy bricks. PIR, Polyisocyanurate is high density structural foam. In addition, these bricks insulate 15 times more efficiently and effectively than traditional bricks.
Rammed earth
You can definitely make a stylish and energy-efficient home by using rammed earth. It is generally used to create walls. The whole process involved compacting the dirt and end up making energy-efficient walls.
Most importantly, rammed earth walls have a high thermal mass, regulate humidity, easily repaired and ensure extensive cost reduction.
Straw and stucco
It is another energy-efficient building material that is tremendously used on homes located in dry climates. According to construction experts, straw and stucco are extremely durable and budget-friendly. You can create a well-insulated wall even by bonding both traditionally manufactured stucco and plaster. If you have planned to build a 185 square metre home, you will need 300 x 30kg bales of straw only.
Compressed soil
The green movement in the construction industry injects a new life into this ancient building material. No wonder, compressed soil seems exceptionally energy efficient and highly suitable to be used on homes present in very dry climates. Countries like China, Peru and New Zealand have supported its use
Recycled steel
Recycled steel usage has become massive! These days, people are skipping using wood beams and shifted their attention to recycled steel. This material has simplified the framing process and experts have praised the durability of steel and its caliber to withstand high winds, rainstorms and earthquakes. Some are even going as far as to build their entire home, barndominium, or outbuilding out of metal because of its easy assembly and resistance to the elements, among other things.
Structural insulated panels
Structural insulated panels (abbreviated as SIPs) look significantly effective for building commercial, residential and industrial spaces. These panels have a foam insulation layer generally bonded between harder layers of wood or cement.
Moreover, SIPs are 100% fire resistant and can save 50 to 60% cost on heating and cooling. Companies like QTO estimating have supported this similar fact that SIPs endorse a lot of cost reduction. Click here if you need to know how much it costs to install concrete SIPs in house.
Vacuum insulated panels
The use of vacuum insulated panels seems catching up with maximum attention with respect to the industrial context. Though this process is highly delicate to operate and expensive, with time, it will likely to improve. These days, construction manufacturers have been trying hard to ensure the availability of VIPs for loft insulation.
Polyurethane insulation
This one is a plant-based insulation that can effectively resist moisture and heat and offers better performance. Instead of using traditional fibreglass insulation, polyurethane insulation is massively demanded these days.
Low-emissive windows
The usage of low-emissive windows has genuinely reduced heating costs. Gone are those days when home-owners prefer double glazing their windows. They have now been successfully replaced by low-emissive windows. In this technique, metallic oxide coating gets applied all over the glass thus reducing heating costs by 10%.
These windows keep the heat completely inside the house during winters and exhaust out the heat during summers. It is in both soft and hard coatings that this technique is applicable. Note that the soft coatings apply between all layers of glass and the hard coatings are applied on the outside.
Plastic composite wood substitute
Time to bid good-bye to traditional wood building materials and prefer plastic composite wood substitute! This material is made of waste or recycled plastic as well as natural wood fibres. Opting for a wood substitute will lead to more durability, ensure more weather resistance and provides excellent insulation.
Thus, above-mentioned are the energy-efficient materials that must be used from now onwards while building any structure. More renewable, green and recycled materials you will use, better the housing structure will become.
If more of the new energy-efficient products will make their entry, we will let you know about them. Remember that adding multiple layers of insulation and investing in specially glazed windows surge the construction cost. That is why; energy-efficient materials have made an official entry. They cut costs by 20 to 30 percent and give other positive surprises as well.