ANÁLISE DAS CONDIÇÕES DE CONFORTO TÉRMICO PROPICIADAS POR UMA EDIFICAÇÃO RESIDENCIAL UNIFAMILIAR UTILIZANDO VEDAÇÃO VERTICAL DE MATERIAIS ÁLCALI-ATIVADOS

Abstract

Building systems in disagreement with the climate can cause unsatisfactory thermal behavior and, consequently, poor indoor thermal comfort conditions. Thus, the thermal comfort conditions evaluation plays an important role to enhance building systems performance, especially to those set as an alternative option. The present work aims at evaluating the thermal comfort conditions provided by external vertical fence composed of alkali-activated material (AAM) panels of residential buildings. For that, a thermoenergetic model of a single-family house of approximately 44m² designed to receive light fencing systems was created using the SketchUp software associated with the Euclid extension. A AAM composed of 70% metakaolin and 30% blast furnace slag as aluminosilicate source and 100% rice husk ash as silica source was selected for this analysis. In addition, a reference model with a conventional Portland cement plate was created for comparison purposes. Then, some thermo-energetic simulations were carried out by using the EnergyPlus software, v. 8.7.0. For both simulations, the SWERA climatic file established for Belo Horizonte (Brazil) was inputted. The annual hours of operative temperature obtained for the extended-stay rooms through simulation were compared to ASHRAE 55/17 adaptive comfort range. The results showed that MAA’s panels provide more than 90% of comfort hours to its users, which represents a value 44% higher than the cement plates. It is concluded, therefore, that for a single-family house located in Belo Horizonte, AAM’s represent a good option of external covering concerning the thermal comfort provided to its users. This work allows to assist the decision-making process regarding alternative solutions to conventional Portland cement plate.