Energy efficiency and thermal comfort of buildings in arid climates employing insulating material produced from date palm waste matter

Abstract

This study investigates the suitability of using waste material from date palm trees in thermal insulation for buildings in arid climates. Thermal conductivity was experimentally determined from a few samples of bricks containing recycled date palm fiber (DPF) and date palm spikelet (DPS). Among the samples investigated, the one containing 1.36% DPS in weight demonstrated the best characteristics for insulation purposes yielding a thermal conductivity of 0.106 W/m.K. Theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out on walls and roofs built using DPS and DPF material to see what impact it would have on energy efficiency and thermal comfort. The electricity consumption for cooling decreased by up to 64.7% and 41.2%, during the summer months, for DPS and DPF, respectively, compared to buildings erected with sand and clay. It was also concluded that the greatest amount of thermal energy entering the rooms takes place through the roofs. Four roof-materials were tested, namely: Polystyrene, Air gap, DPF, and DPP on three different days. As a thermal insulator, DPF demonstrated the best thermal comfort conditions; polyester yielded poorer thermal comfort conditions and DPP delivered rather weak results.

Energy efficiency and thermal comfort of buildings in arid climates employing insulating material produced from date palm waste matter