Different Green Building materials

April 21, 2020

Green building materials are used to construct energy efficient structures and to achieve that we all should know the different materials, their properties and how they are contributing into saving the energy.

Following are the green building materials

Ø Earthen Materials: Earthen materials such as adobe, cob, rammed earth, chopped straw, grass and other fibrous materials are being used for construction.

Ø Engineered Wood: Wood is one of the most famous building material. This woods are used in structural parts like walls, boards, doors. These engineered wood contains different layers of wood, usually the middle layers are made of wood scraps, softwoods, wood fibres etc.

Ø Bamboo: They can be used to construct frames or supports, walls, floors etc. It provides a pleasant appearance.

Ø SIPs: Structural insulated panels (SIPs) consist of two sheets. They are used for walls and they give good insulation.

Ø Insulated Concrete Forms: They are used to hold reinforcement bars, after placing reinforcement, concrete is poured into this space. They are light in weight, fire resistant, low dense and have good thermal and sound insulation properties.

Ø Cordwood: These are bonded together by mortar mix. They are strong, environment friendly and give pleasant appearance to the structures.

Ø Straw Bale: It has good insulating property so it is used in framing material. It has some resistance to fire also.

Ø Earth Bags: These can be used to construct walls. This types of structures are constructed near military bases, near banks of water resources etc.

Ø Slate/ Stone Roofing: This is used to make tile. It has high durability so can be used in roof material also.

Ø Steel: These can be recycled again and again so it is suitable for green roofing material.

Ø Thatch: It is dry straw, dry water reed, dried rushes etc. It gives aesthetic look.

Ø Composites: Material which are produced using composites materials are light weight, inexpensive and good insulating.

Ø Natural Fiber: It is also used as an insulating material. These are used in preformed wooden frame section.

Ø Polyurethane: Polyurethane foam is available in the form of spray bottles. They are directly sprayed onto the surface or wall or to which part insulation is required.

Ø Fiber Glass: Fiberglass is also used for insulation purposes in the form of fiberglass batts.

Ø Cellulose: Cellulose is a recycled product of paper waste and it is widely used around the world for insulation purposes in structure.

Ø Cork: Cork is also a good insulator. Boards or panels made of cork are available in markets.

Ø Polystyrene and isocyanurate: Polystyrene and isocyanurate foam sheets are another type of insulation materials which are available in the form of boards or sheets.

Ø Natural Clay: Plastering of walls can be done using natural clay rather than other gypsum-based plasters.

Ø Non- VOC paints: Presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in paint reacts with sunlight and nitrogen oxide resulting in the formation of ozone which can cause severe health problems for the occupants.

Ø Natural Fiber Floor: Naturally occurring materials like bamboo, wool and cotton fiber carpets, cork etc. can be used for flooring purposes.

Ø Fiber Cement: Fiber cement boards are made of cement, sand and wood fibers.

Ø Stone: Stone is a naturally occurring and a long-lasting building material.Stones are good against weathering hence they can be used to construct exterior walls, steps, exterior flooring etc.

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