International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST)

Sustainable Building Materials for Energy-Efficient Building Development – A Review

Construction is one of the greatest consumers of raw materials and energy in the world hence sustainability is a key priority in the contemporary building development. With continued increase in the carbon emission globally, there has been a need to incorporate energy saving and environmentally conscious materials in curbing the effects of the buildings on their life-cycle. The transition is supported by sustainable building materials which reduce embodied energy, enhance thermal performance and permit more resource-efficient constructions. These resources can broadly be categorized into four primary groups, which are bio-based materials like bamboo, hempcrete, and engineered timber, recycled and low-carbon materials, such as reclaimed steel, recycled concrete aggregate, and polymer composites, high-performance insulation materials, and energy-generating/energy-saving materials, such as building-integrated photovoltaics, phase-change materials, and cool roofing technologies. Collectively, these innovations result in a considerable decrease in the operational energy demand alongside the advancement of the principles of the circular economy in the construction supply chain. Nevertheless, sustainable materials are not widely used due to cost constraints, government regulations, lack of technical expertise, and the discrepancy of the supply-chain across different regions of the world. Nonetheless, research and global sustainability models are focused on the fact that the large-scale expansion of sustainable material use is the most important in the long-term climate objectives, resilient infrastructure, and a low-carbon built environment.