الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 288 |  |  |
| | | from | 288 | | |
Abstract
Energy crisis nowadays becomes one of the most important discussed problems, especially in developing countries. Many attempts are done every day in order to develop a solution for this problem and conserve energy. In developed countries, the construction sector (includes residential, commercial and public projects) uses from 20 to 40 percent of the total world’s energy consumption which is considered as a high percentage. Around the world, buildings consume approximately 70% of total energy consumption through air-conditioning and artificial lighting. The key tool for designing and constructing an energy conserved buildings is in selecting the proper building materials. So selecting the proper materials for buildings (construction – insulation – finishing) has great involved influences on both the cost, energy consumption and the quality of the built environment.
The research has dealt of the deficiency of achieving thermal comfort indoor by using environmentally friendly materials. In other words, that is because of the huge energy consumption in manufacturing, transportation, application demolition as well, in order to make and apply manufactured insulation buildings materials. Although the manufactured insulation materials are designed to achieve thermal comfort indoor, their many chemical hazards and negative effects on workers, occupants, and environment can’t be neglected. In order to achieve thermal comfort demanded for the built environment, and without depending on manufacturing solutions which consume a huge amount of energy and cost, natural materials can be applied in buildings as insulation materials.
Natural Materials have been used from hundreds of years in building such as mud brick houses, karshief stone buildings, rice straw, houses built from bamboo stalks …etc. They are clean, available, healthy environmental, recycling capable materials. So they not only have the potential to save human and the environment health, but also can save energy and cost. Recently natural materials are used in buildings in different ways, some as main building materials, or as an insulation layer, and some as a part of the modern technique’s insulation system for buildings. Examining the impacts of applying natural insulation materials on buildings is the main scope of the research study.
The main goal of this research is to evaluate the impact of using natural materials in buildings on their thermal performance, and to define the requirements and investigate the factors for Natural Materials in order to be applicable in buildings to enhance their thermal performance, energy and cost. The research’s limitation is to identify the thermal insulation materials’ characteristics, ways of application, and evaluate the impacts of applying them on buildings without studying where is the place for each material to be applied in, and without identifying the treatment additives added to the natural materials..
The research followed a methodology depends on literature review for some researches which focus on using natural materials in buildings in order to enhance their thermal performance using many application ways, and researches that focus on energy and cost consumption in buildings. Furthermore an analyzing methodology is done on various national and international examples and natural insulation materials which have been experimented and studied and proved an effective quality on enhancing the thermal performance in buildings. A questionnaire has done and answered by 52 persons from different fields and ages, and interviews with many architects and materials’ specialists for selection materials for mega projects, in order to conclude selection criterion for selecting insulation materials in buildings with respecting to all the previous conditions. Moreover, a validation simulation study for a living room in Dar Misr housing project located in El Sherouk city, to evaluate the current statues’ thermal performance, and make a comparison when applying natural insulation materials using the modern techniques of applying in the building.