Investigation on Electricity Consumption Reduction through Foam Lightweight Concrete Utilization in Residential Buildings–Case Study: Tehran, Iran

摘要: Electricity consumption of residential buildings amounts for 33.2% of total electricity demand in Iran. Using proper insulation materials such as Foam Lightweight Concrete (FLC) blocks in houses walls can improve thermal performance of buildings. This paper aims to investigate electricity saving rate of typical Iranian residential buildings as a result of utilizing FLC block walls compared to three common wall materials: pressed brick, terra-cotta block, and 3D panel for two different situations:(i) buildings with constant area and variable heights, and (ii) buildings with constant height and variable areas. Utilizing Behsazan software, the results show that in case one, annual electricity saving through FLC block walls depends on the number of floors and varies from 2.64% to 2.70% and 1.85% to 1.96% in proportion to pressed brick and terra-cotta block walls, respectively. In case two, the saving range, based on the buildings area, is from 2.29% to 3.05% and 1.61% to 2.23% in comparison with pressed brick and terra-cotta block walls, respectively. The difference between electricity consumption of houses simulated by 3D panel and FLC block walls is almost negligible in both situations.