Optimal rammed earth wall thickness for a single-family house in Serbia

Abstract

Sustainability and energy efficiency have become important factors in modern architecture, with additional momentum generated by the revised European Building Performance Directive 2010/31/EU, which set the goal that all buildings in European Union constructed after 2020 have to be nearly zero energy buildings. The sustainability of rammed earth walls is unquestionable, however, their large U-value implies that they have to be combined with external insulation in climates with cold winters, as is the case in Serbia. The aim is to study, through building energy performance simulations in Energyplus, to what extent a combination of rammed earth walls and external insulation may accomplish the goal for a single-family house in Serbian city of Belgrade to become a nearly zero energy building, provided the house is equipped with properly shaded, high performance windows, and highly insulated floor slab and roof. © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, London.