
Eco-efficient Materials for Mitigating Building Cooling Needs
Design, Properties and Applications
- 1st Edition - February 23, 2015
- Imprint: Woodhead Publishing
- Editors: F. Pacheco-Torgal, Joao Labrincha, Luisa F. Cabeza, Claes-Göran Granqvist
- Language: English
- Hardback ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 7 8 2 4 2 - 3 8 0 - 5
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 7 8 2 4 2 - 4 0 1 - 7
Climate change is one of the most important environmental problems faced by Planet Earth. The majority of CO2 emissions come from burning fossil fuels for energy production an… Read more

Purchase options

Institutional subscription on ScienceDirect
Request a sales quoteClimate change is one of the most important environmental problems faced by Planet Earth. The majority of CO2 emissions come from burning fossil fuels for energy production and improvements in energy efficiency shows the greatest potential for any single strategy to abate global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the energy sector. Energy related emissions account for almost 80% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions. The building sector is the largest energy user responsible for about 40% of the EU’s total final energy consumption.
In Europe the number of installed air conditioning systems has increased 500% over the last 20 years, but in that same period energy cooling needs have increased more than 20 times. The increase in energy cooling needs relates to the current higher living and working standards. In urban environments with low outdoor air quality (the general case) this means that in summer-time one cannot count on natural ventilation to reduce cooling needs. Do not forget the synergistic effect between heat waves and air pollution which means that outdoor air quality is worse in the summer aggravating cooling needs. Over the next few years this phenomenon will become much worse because more people will live in cities, more than 2 billion by 2050 and global warming will aggravate cooling needs.- An overview of materials to lessen the impact of urban heat islands
- Excellent coverage of building materials to reduce air condtioning needs
- Innovative products discussed such as Thermo and Electrochromic materials
Architects, civil engineers, materials scientists and contractors working in the construction industry
- List of contributors
- Woodhead Publishing Series in Civil and Structural Engineering
- Foreword
- 1: Introduction to eco-efficient materials to mitigate building cooling needs
- Abstract
- 1.1 Climate change and urban heat islands (UHIs)
- 1.2 Adaptation to climate change and mitigation of UHI effects and of building cooling needs
- 1.3 Outline of the book
- Part One: Pavements for mitigating urban heat island effects
- 2: Coating materials to increase pavement surface reflectance
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 2.1 Introduction
- 2.2 Organic polymers used as coating overlay materials for pavements
- 2.3 Inorganic materials used as polymer fillers to increase reflectance
- 2.4 Aggregate materials with high reflectance
- 2.5 Future trends
- 3: Pavements made of concrete with high solar reflectance
- Abstract
- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.2 Materials for high solar reflectance concrete
- 3.3 Heat transfer in pavements
- 3.4 Other potential benefits of high solar reflectance concrete
- 3.5 Modeling the benefits of widespread use of high solar reflectance concrete
- 3.6 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credit
- 3.7 Other resources
- 3.8 Future trends
- 4: A comparison of thermal performance of different pavement materials
- Abstract
- 4.1 Introduction
- 4.2 Albedo of pavement materials
- 4.3 Thermal properties of pavement materials
- 4.4 Surface temperature of pavement materials
- 4.5 Near-surface air temperature above pavement
- 4.6 Thermal impact of pavement on nearby building wall surfaces
- 4.7 Heat flux from pavement
- 4.8 Potential impacts and future trends of pavements
- 4.9 Conclusions
- 2: Coating materials to increase pavement surface reflectance
- Part Two: Facade materials for reducing cooling needs
- 5: Green facades and living walls: vertical vegetation as a construction material to reduce building cooling loads
- Abstract
- 5.1 Introduction
- 5.2 Plant cooling mechanisms
- 5.3 Effective thermal resistance of a plant layer
- 5.4 Building energy savings with vegetated facades
- 5.5 Additional benefits of vegetated facades
- 5.6 Future trends
- 5.7 Sources of further information and advice
- 6: Comparison of the performance of different facade materials for reducing building cooling needs
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 6.1 Introduction
- 6.2 Selection of sample unit
- 6.3 Test and instrumentation
- 6.4 Materials thermal behavior: their impacts on building design decisions and energy consumption
- 6.5 Conclusions and future trends
- 7: Lotus ceramics for counteracting urban heat island effects
- Abstract
- Acknowledgements
- 7.1 Introduction
- 7.2 Porous ceramics with a similar microstructure to the root of the lotus
- 7.3 Properties of lotus ceramics
- 7.4 Passive cooling wall using lotus ceramics for counteracting urban heat island effects
- 7.5 Ideas for further enhancing cooling effects using the capillary rise property
- 8: Innovative evaporative cooling walls
- Abstract
- 8.1 Introduction
- 8.2 Scientific background
- 8.3 Fundamentals of evaporative cooling
- 8.4 Design of an evaporative cooling wall
- 8.5 Future trends
- 8.6 Sources of information and advice
- 8.7 Conclusions
- 5: Green facades and living walls: vertical vegetation as a construction material to reduce building cooling loads
- Part Three: Roofing materials for reducing building cooling needs
- 9: High-albedo roof coatings for reducing building cooling needs
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 9.1 Introduction
- 9.2 Physical characteristics of high-albedo roof coatings
- 9.3 Thermal-energy assessment of high-albedo roofs
- 9.4 How to measure high-albedo properties of roof coatings
- 9.5 Benefits of high-albedo roof coatings
- 9.6 Materials and techniques
- 9.7 Aging and weathering of high-albedo roof coatings
- 9.8 Conclusions
- 10: Solar cooling with hydrophilic porous materials for reducing building cooling needs
- Abstract
- Acknowledgements
- 10.1 Introduction
- 10.2 Hydrophilic porous materials
- 10.3 Water vapor adsorption on hydrophilic porous materials and their solar interaction
- 10.4 Solar evaporative cooling
- 10.5 Future trends
- 11: Cool green roofs for reducing building cooling needs
- Abstract
- 11.1 Introduction
- 11.2 Green roof types
- 11.3 Materials and properties
- 11.4 Design principles for reducing cooling needs
- 11.5 Future trends
- 12: Influence of vegetation damage on urban cooling effects
- Abstract
- 12.1 Introduction
- 12.2 The urban system
- 12.3 Causes of vegetation damage
- 12.4 Consequences of vegetation damage
- 12.5 Damage prevention techniques
- 12.6 Conclusion and future trends
- 12.7 Sources of further information
- 13: Technical and economic analysis of green roofs to reduce building cooling needs
- Abstract
- 13.1 Introduction: international framework in matters of energy efficiency in buildings
- 13.2 Behaviors of green roofs: heat transfer phenomena and literature state of the art
- 13.3 Criteria for suitable feasibility studies
- 13.4 Presentation of the case studies
- 13.5 Results and discussion
- 13.6 Rainwater harvesting systems for improving the economics of green roofs
- 13.7 Conclusions and future trends
- 9: High-albedo roof coatings for reducing building cooling needs
- Part Four: Phase-change materials (PCMs) and chromogenic smart materials for reducing building cooling needs
- 14: Phase-change materials for reducing building cooling needs
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 14.1 Introduction
- 14.2 Phase-change materials
- 14.3 Eco-efficient phase-change materials
- 14.4 Phase-change materials as a tool to mitigate building cooling demands
- 15: Nanomaterial-embedded phase-change materials (PCMs) for reducing building cooling needs
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 15.1 Introduction
- 15.2 Nanomaterials for thermal energy storage
- 15.3 Enhanced thermophysical property attributes
- 15.4 Thermal energy storage properties of nanomaterial-embedded PCMs
- 15.5 Scope for future research
- 16: Fenestration for reducing building cooling needs: an introduction to spectral selectivity, thermochromics, and electrochromics
- Abstract
- Acknowledgment
- 16.1 Introduction
- 16.2 Light, solar energy, thermal radiation, and more
- 16.3 Eco-efficient glazings with static properties
- 16.4 Chromogenic glazings: thermochromics
- 16.5 Chromogenic glazings: electrochromics
- 16.6 Comments and conclusions
- 17: Electrochromic glazing and walls for reducing building cooling needs
- Abstract
- 17.1 Introduction
- 17.2 The building envelope as a dynamic organism
- 17.3 Electrochromic materials for the building envelope
- 17.4 Research in the field of electrochromic glazing
- 17.5 Future trends and innovative applications
- 18: The impact of electrochromic windows on the energy performance of buildings in Mediterranean climates: a case study
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
- 18.1 Introduction
- 18.2 Methodology for electrochromic (EC) energy performance assessment
- 18.3 Case study
- 18.4 Conclusions
- 14: Phase-change materials for reducing building cooling needs
- Index
- Edition: 1
- Published: February 23, 2015
- No. of pages (eBook): 550
- Imprint: Woodhead Publishing
- Language: English
- Hardback ISBN: 9781782423805
- eBook ISBN: 9781782424017
FP
F. Pacheco-Torgal
JL
Joao Labrincha
LC
Luisa F. Cabeza
CG