SIMULATION OF NATURAL GAS SAVING THROUGH FOAM LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE UTILIZATION IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Heat loss through walls in houses is remarkable and it shares about 25% of total loss. Utilizing Foam Lightweight Concrete (FLC) block in walls may lead to reduction in both gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This is due to heat insulation property of the block and consequently less energy consumption. The main objective of this research was to investigate how FLC block can save natural gas usage within building envelop. A typical residential building was simulated for pressed brick, terra-cotta block, 3D panel, and FLC block by utilizing Behsazan software. Afterwards, building gas consumption and relevant carbon dioxide emissions were compared for abovementioned wall materials, while the building area was constant and its height was variable. Results showed that annual gas reduction attributed to utilizing FLC block walls with different heights varies from 25.7% to 30.6% and from 18.5% to 23.3% in comparison with pressed brick and terra-cotta block walls, respectively. This reduction for 3D panel walls was about 4.6%. Moreover, CO2 emission reduction depending on the number of floors for FLC block walls with pressed brick, terra-cotta block, and 3D panel walls were equal to 20.8 to 24, 15 to 18.3, and 3.4 to 3.8 kg CO2/m2, respectively.