Energy efficiency in buildings: Thermophysical characterization of building materials

In Morocco, the construction sector is the largest consumer of energy. Reducing the energy consumption in buildings represents a major economic and ecological issue. The building sector has the highest potential for improving energy efficiency which concerns, among other the choice of appropriate materials and improvement of their thermal characteristics. The present work deals with measurement methods and characterization of thermophysical proprieties of building materials. Primary results of measurement of thermal proprieties of extruded polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, soil, gypsum and marble are presented. The measurements were carried out using two devices available at the National Centre for Studies and Researches on Water and Energy (CNEREE) at Marrakech. The two devices EI700 and FP2C use respectively the boxes method and the method of the hot plan and hot wire.