Regional Bricks Thermal Analysis: A Low-Thermal Conductivity Material to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Decarbonizing the building sector is an essential task in accomplishing the goal of Net Zero Emissions by 2050.This sector accounts for a quarter of the global CO2 emissions.Those emissions are produced during the whole life cycle of the building, which is analyzed from the extraction of the raw materials until the disposal of the waste after it has served its service stage.For this reason, it is vital to study construction materials because they accumulate emissions during production that will become part of the building's carbon footprint; such materials will give their properties to shape the behaviour of the building mechanically and thermally.The local bricks analyzed in this study come as an alternative, as they have shown a very low thermal conductivity (0.33 W/mK) compared to the ones reported in the literature, which can ultimately be translated to fewer emissions by HVAC.Therefore, emissions could be reduced by two factors: transport emissions are considerably decreased if we consider their local production, and due to their non-cementitious nature, all the energy-related emissions produced for the cement production energy demand are avoided.The determination of the local brick properties impacts the producers, as they can revalue their product and, by knowing their improvement areas, can optimize their process, which can help in their competitiveness in the market.Lastly, understanding the properties of the local brick comes in handy when simulating and planning constructions in the local panorama, as they are necessary to estimate the future energy demand and make decisions to build better-planned and more sustainable communities and homes.