Eco-efficient construction and building materials research under the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020

TLDR: In this article, the case of materials for energy efficiency and materials capable of reusing a high waste content is addressed and the potential of energy efficiency related building materials has the potential to become a hot research area being promoted and funded as a Key Enabling Technology-KET.

About: This article is published in Construction and Building Materials.The article was published on 2014-01-31 and is currently open access. It has received 182 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Resource efficiency & Sustainable development.

Figures

Table 4 Organic substances suitable for PCM’s [49].

Table 2 Description of the existing technological trends on the field of reflective pavements [43].

Table 3 Description of the existing technological trends on the field of permeable and water retentive pavements [43].

Fig. 1. Annual funding comparison be

Fig. 2. Percentage division under the initial budget proposal of Horizon 2020.

Table 6 Eutectics substances suitable for PCM’s [49].

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "Eco-efficient construction and building materials research under the eu framework programme horizon 2020" ?

This article addresses the case of materials for energy efficiency and materials capable of reusing a high waste content. Nanotech energy efficiency related building materials has the potential to become a hot research area being promoted and funded as a Key Enabling Technology-KET. 

Q2. What is the effective way to reduce heat losses in buildings?

The use of thermal insulation materials constitutes the most effective way of reducing heat losses in buildings thus reducing heat energy needs. 

Q3. What is the worrying waste that can be reused in construction materials?

Mining and quarrying wastes represent another worrying waste (more than 700 million tons/year) that can be reused in construction materials. 

Q4. What are the common thermal insulation materials?

These materials have a thermal conductivity factor, k (W/m K) lower than 0.065 and a thermal resistance higher than 0.30 (m2 K)/W. Traditional thermal insulation materials include the following ones:Expanded polystyrene. 

Q5. How many years will the Commission develop guidance on green infrastructure?

By the end of 2013, the Commission will develop guidance to show how green infrastructure can be integrated into the implementation of these policies from 2014 to 2020, for several areas, including adaptation to climate change. 

Q6. How many ha of green roofs are there in the country?

For instance, Germany has almost 100 million m2 of green roofs, and the state of Singapore intends to target 0.75 ha of green roofs per 1000 inhabitants. 

Q7. How many commercial solutions are available on the market?

Several commercial solutions are already available on the market (SAGE Electrochromics-USA, Econtrol Glas, Saint Gobain Sekurit and Gesimat-Germany, ChromoGenics AB-Sweden, amongst others) with a service life of 30 years and capable of 100,000 switching cycles. 

Q8. What are the advantages of recycling and re-use of waste?

Recycling and re-use of waste are economically attractive options for public and private actors due to widespread separate collection and the development of functional markets for secondary raw materials. 

Q9. What is the percentage of energy in buildings that is considered to be the major contributor?

In recent decades the operational energy in buildings (lighting, heating, cooling, etc.) was accepted as being the major contributor, while the embodied energy was found to represent only a small fraction (10–15%). 

Q10. What is the need to recycle at least 70% of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste?

The need to recycle at least 70% of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste by 2020 expressed in COM 571 [8] was set by the Revised Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC [78] and does not include naturally occurring material defined in category 170504 (soil and stones not containing dangerous substances) in the European Waste Catalogue’’. 

Q11. What is the term used to describe the switchable glazing technology?

This refers to ‘materials and devices that make it possible to construct glazings whose throughput of visible light and solar energy can be switched to different levels depending on the application of a low DC voltage (electrochromics) or on the temperature (thermochromics) or even by using hydrogen (gasochromics). 

Q12. What is the percentage of energy consumed in the building?

as operational energy is reduced, the percentage of the embodied energy in the total energy consumption of the buildings becomes increasingly prevalent. 

Q13. What is the common drawback of green roofs?

This fact limits the size of plants that can be used on the roof, thus limiting the weight of the green roof on the building structure. 

Q14. How many buildings will be in use by 2030?

Giordano [12] points out that many existing and planned infrastructures (Table 1) will still be in use by 2030 or 2050 when climate change might have far more substantial impacts than today. 

Q15. What is the trend of building cooling needs in the last two decades?

Building cooling needs have increased in an exponential trend in the last two decades going from 6 TJ in 1990 to 160 TJ in 2010 [39].