Impact of Building Materials for the Exterior Envelope on Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions (Case Study of Residential Buildings in Tehran)

Darabi, Amir Sina; Ravanshadnia, Mehdi

doi:10.48301/jear.2025.516184.1109

Impact of Building Materials for the Exterior Envelope on Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions (Case Study of Residential Buildings in Tehran)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Amir Sina Darabi ^¶

Mehdi Ravanshadnia

Department of Engineering and Construction Management, Science and Research, Islamic Azad university, Tehran, Iran

10.48301/jear.2025.516184.1109

Abstract

The façade of the building, as the main intermediary between the interior and exterior spaces, plays a significant role in adjusting the weather conditions and providing thermal comfort to the residents. In this research, 715 different scenarios were defined with the combination of different types of construction materials, and the effect of each of these scenarios on the process of energy loss from the surface of the external walls of the building during the operation period was deter-mined. In the end, these scenarios were compared during a one-year operation period, and the amount of energy consumption in each of these scenarios was calculated. Also, by measuring the amount of carbon emissions in buildings during the operation period and before that, let's look at practical methods to reduce the effects of the construction industry on the environment. By comparing the research findings, it can be seen that the ranking of each scenario in the amount of total energy consumption is not necessarily the same as the ranking of energy consumption for gas consumption or electricity consumption for the same scenario. That is, choosing the optimal scenario depends on the type of energy consumed in the building. Finally, we determined the scenarios with the lowest and highest amounts of embodied carbon and operational carbon. At the end, we obtained the latent carbon compensation period for each scenario. This article can help de-signers and construction engineers optimize the energy consumption of buildings by deciding on the right materials.

Keywords

Design Builder software

Carbon emissions

Embedded Carbon

Operational carbon

Building Materials

energy consumption

Exterior Envelope

Subjects

Civil Engineering

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