Green Energy Bricks in Construction

NON – STRUCTURAL MATERIAL (BRICKS)

The General Concept of Green Material

The concept of sustainable building incorporates and integrates a variety of strategies during the design, construction and operation of building projects. The use of green building materials and products represents one important strategy in the design of a building. There are many benefits of using green material to the building owner and building occupants which is, it can reduced maintenance or replacement costs over the life of the building, it can supply energy conservation, it can improved occupant health and productivity, it can lower costs associated with changing space configurations, and it has greater design flexibility. Roodman and Lenssen (1995) said that the building and construction activities worldwide consume 3 billion tons of raw materials each year or 40 percent of total global use. Using green building materials and products promotes conservation of dwindling non-renewable resources internationally. In addition, integrating green building materials into building projects can help reduce the environmental impacts associated with the extraction, transport, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these building industry source materials. Spiegel and Meadows (1999) said green building materials are composed of renewable, rather than non-renewable resources. Green materials are environmentally responsible because impacts are considered over the life of the product. During construction or at the end of useful building life, construction materials and components are often discarded with construction debris accounting for nearly 28 percent of landfill waste. So, using the green elements to the building can protects environment safely.

For bricks, Energy Bricks are made for committed to energy savings. In addition, using the Energy Bricks, a wall can be constructed much faster than conventional brick laying. From the Journal Green Technology and Environmental Conservation (GTEC2011) by Sandasamy D, Govindarajane S, Sundararajan T, sustainability means to minimize usage of energy and resources, thereby reducing waste generation and pollution, as byproduct of construction. Therefore Engineers, Environmentalist, and Architects have been directing their efforts to find ways for using the byproducts of any manufacturing process, as input or source material for manufacturing other items. Sustainable buildings maximize the energy efficiency by using sustainable materials and construction technology, generation of industrial waste by products, through better planning, designing, construction, operation, maintenance and removal, throughout the complete life cycle. So, Energy Bricks are made for energy savings and safe environment from pollutions. Besides that, the Energy Brick can save time, cost and gives the maximum energy savings when it comes to building a home.

Eco Labeling

Eco-label is a method of environmental performance certification and labeling also been practiced throughout world. Eco-label is a label that identifies in overall environmental preference of a product or service proves the particular product or service category. Labeling will be provided by a third party who can be trusted based on consideration by the party that is not biased in relation to the products or services specified independently for environmental leadership criteria .The purpose of eco-label is to guide consumers to choose products and services deemed to be less harmful to the environment than other products in the same category. Eco-label is designed to encourage industry to produce more environmentally friendly product for their consumer.

Bricks product selected is Green Energy Brick. Green Energy Bricks introduce the latest innovation, They have been designed with a massive R8+ insulation rating, they cut down on construction time, save on construction costs, are load bearing, require no core filling, are light weight, are easy to install, are fire resistant, can be used in all cyclonic zones. Moreover, wall can be constructed much faster using green energy brick compared to the conventional brick. The Energy Brick fulfills all the criteria to save time and cost yet gives the maximum energy savings when it comes to building a home. Advantages of eco labels are as follows:

1. Inform consumer choice eco-label is an effective way to inform customers about the environmental impact of selected products.
2. Promoting economic efficiency, eco labeling generally cheaper than the controlled rules product .By empowering customers and manufacturers to support environmental decision making.
3. Stimulate market development, when customers are choosing eco-labeled products, they have a direct impact on the supply and demand in the market. This is a signal that the benchmark towards environmental awareness.
4. Encourage continuous improvement, a dynamic market for eco-labeled products promoting corporate commitment to continuous environmental improvement.
5. Encourage certification, environmental certification program is the seal of approval that indicates that the product reaches a certain degree of eco-labels.
6. Assist in monitoring, another benefit of the program is the official eco labeling that environmental claims can be more easily monitored.

Function of Green Energy Bricks

The Green Energy Brick was developed to avoid adding extra layers of materials and labor, which would add cost to conventional construction. They have been designed with a massive R8+ insulation rating, they cut down on construction time, save on construction costs, are load bearing, require no core filling, are light weight, are easy to install, are fire resistant, can be used in all cyclonic zones and much, much more. Using the Green Energy Bricks, a wall can be constructed much faster than conventional brick laying. First function of Green Energy Brick is to become the external skin and they replace all other forms of standard clay bricks, concrete blocks, weather boards etc. This function were gain by the design criteria of Green Energy Bricks that come with a 9 mm Magnesium Oxide internal and external skin, already bonded ready for paint or texture or other applied finishes. Second function of Green Energy Brick is to replace slab foundation that made of concrete. By using Green Energy Brick, it will save the concrete from providing a rebated base or foundation made of concrete in conventional building processes. Third function of Green Energy Brick is to closed cell foam resists any vapour transfering.

By this specialty of Green Energy Brick, there will no requirement for building sislation or a foil vapor barrier for a building to be constructed. Fourth function of Green Energy Brick is to replace the need for any separate structural frame, as the energy brick is load bearing. It means that there will be no needs for load bearing support such as column structure made of reinforced concrete as the Green Energy Brick have the strength to support load. Lastly, the function of Green Energy Brick is to replace the wall with finishes. Applying an interior finish like plaster is not required as it already comes with an interior skin, but is optional and will further increase the walls R rating value of the building walls.

Specifications on Functions of Green Energy Bricks

The design criteria and objective in the development of the Energy Brick was to make a radical cost effective improvement in the thermal performance of buildings for both concrete slab and above ground construction. Firstly, Green Energy Bricks come with a 9mm Magnesium Oxide internal and external skin, already bonded. With this specification, Green Energy Brick become the external skin and they replace all other forms of standard clay bricks, concrete blocks, weather boards etc. The Energy Brick with its Magnesium Oxide board skin allows for all types of applied finishes, render and painting.So, applying an interior finish like plaster is not required as it already comes with an interior skin, but is optional and will further increase the walls R rating value. Secondly, Green Energy Bricks brings you the ultimate in structural light weight bricks. Even though they are light weight, the bricks from Green Energy Bricks are structural or load bearing. Green Energy Brick unique formulation consists of a central core of rigid Polyisocyanurate Foam (PIR) with an external and internal skin of 9mm Magnesium Oxide Board. This makes it both light weight, yet load bearing and with an attractive finish. Thirdly, Green Energy Bricks is a Single wall system, but has superior properties and functions than a double brick wall.

The design includes a 80mm diameter hole running vertically every 300mm to allow for running of electrical cabling, telephone lines, TV or sound cabling after the wall has been constructed. This deletes the need to run conduits or install electrical metal boxes during the wall construction process. This also makes it easier to know where electrical cabling can be run if there is a need to add any electrical points at a future time. Fourthly, this Green Energy Bricks is fire-resistant brick product compared to other brick that available nowadays. The Green Energy Brick Magnesium Oxide skins are non-combustible and the foam core self-extinguishing from fire. This makes the Green Energy Brick one of the most fire resistant building materials available on the market. As a conclusion, Green Energy Bricks were made with better specification that brings them the better function compared to the conventional brick on market todays.

e) Development and Erection Process

The development of the Energy Brick was to make a radical cost effective improvement in the thermal performance of buildings for both concrete slab and above ground construction. The Energy Brick was developed to avoid adding extra layers of materials and labour, which would add cost to conventional construction. The Energy Brick from Green Energy Bricks achieves four to five times the insulation rating of conventional housing. It designed to reduce the labour content of wall construction. Over five processes, all with different materials and trades can be reduced to one or two processes, with skills that can be learned in a few hours. While the bricks are more expensive at present than the material components of conventional walls, the labour to assemble is considerably reduced, it means Green Energy Bricks increase the insulation rating considerably, while at the same time it can reducing the labour complexity and costs. From the case study (Fritz Moedinger), the environmental impact of the production process is mostly due to the consumption of energy for the firing of the bricks and quarrying of raw materials. The average direct energy consumption of the production process is to be found ranging between 1.840 and 2.800 kJ/kg of fired brick (of which about 150 kJ/kg are electrical).

f) Comparison of Convention Material and Green Material in Term of Cost

From the case study (Fritz Modinger), all of the energy used is traditionally generated with fossil fuels. At the Gasser brickyard fossil fuels have been substituted successfully with renewable fuels such as biogas and liquefied rendering fat. The biogas is generated in an own plant based upon a process patented internationally by the brickyard itself. Rendering fat is supplied from rendering plants. Renewable fuels have the main advantage over fossil fuels that the resulting flue gases feature a lower content of contaminants such allowing to heat up the brick dryer directly by recycling the flue gases instead of having to have a separate source of heat to run the dryer. The achieved total heat requirement reduction alone by this measure is about 30% of the former total heat requirement.

So from this case study, cost can reduce because renewable energy are used during the development of Energy Bricks. We know that convention material usually has more cheaper than modern material, but the reality is Energy Bricks also has their own benefits when we choose it. There can save cost which is no rebate are required as part of the concrete slab and only an outer square edge is required. Energy bricks also is single wall system which replaces the external skin of brickwork or any other type of lining, replaces the need for a structural stud wall as the Energy Brick itself is load bearing, replaces any need for insulation as it is already at a massive R8, replaces any need for sislation, and replaces the need to add other materials to the external wall. It can increase the wall’s energy rating. The Energy Bricks can be laid from inside where it is a flat platform. This also avoids the use of expensive scaffolds to perform the work from the outside and lessens the possibilities of OSHA issues. It also reduces ongoing utility costs, which equates to continued savings year after year.

g) Impact to use Green Energy Bricks

Green building is one of the most important trends in the construction industry today. When build a house it cannot avoid impacting the environment, but it can work towards reducing that environmental impact. Impact to use Green Energy Bricks is to help accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings. Informed choices will help reduce energy bills, while providing a healthier living environment, it also reduce the need to burn fossil fuels and help fight climate change. Besides that, the Green Energy Bricks has taken the initiative through our super energy efficient bricks to assist builders and consumers with a unique environmentally friendly building technique and to lessen the impact on our environment. The foam can be sourced from petroleum oils, coal oils and a series of vegetable based oils like soy, corn, palm oil etc. In all cases the carbon in the materials is sequestered in the bricks for at least the life of the building, as recycling is a realistic probability. Energy Bricks pass all the tests for superior energy efficiency with a massive R8+ energy rating. This makes a dramatic difference in assisting to lessen the impact on the environment. This makes Green Buildings cost less to operate because they will use less energy and water, and require less maintenance Green Building using Green Energy Bricks for the building envelope is the only choice for the future.  

APPENDIX

Figure 1 : Energy Bricks.

Figure 2 : Clay Bricks.

Figure 3 : Energy Brick Detail (Side Elevation).

Figure 4 : Energy Brick Detail (Front Elevation).

REFERENCES

Chan, C.-M. (September 2010). Journal of Sustainable Development. Development of a Strength Prediction Model for “Green” Compressed.

Garzoli, K. (2009, June 10). Green Energy Bricks. Retrieved from http://www.greenenergybricks.com/.

Moedinger, F. (2003). CASE STUDY. SUSTAINABLE CLAY BRICK PRODUCTION.

Mohd Syahrul Hisyam Mohd Sani, F. M. (2012). IEEE Symposium on Humanities, Science and Engineering Research. Comparison Study of Common Brick with.

Sandasamy D, G. S. (2011). Green Technology and Environmental Conservation.