Score - Sustainable Construction in Rural and Fragile Areas for Energy efficiency

Guidelines for integrated territorial planning – ECO-COMPATIBILE MATERIALS

For renovations of Smart house were used indigenous natural materials. Straw and clay, as two representatives of these materials are historically important building material because it is in the beginning, viewed globally, used mostly everywhere. In the past, these materials have been quite forgotten, but today because of their good insulation and other features, their use is increasing again. For renovations were also used: cane, wood, sawdust, hemp, cellulose, coconut...

Clay or loam is one of the oldest building materials, the use of which in the past twenty years, rising sharply. The main advantages are its ability to clay accumulation and transmission of heat and moisture. Houses, built of clay, are fire-safe, are safe from mold and parasites, while the control of humidity in the rooms provide a favorable residential climate. Since clay has high strength, used mainly for non-structural elements. The market has a lot of semi-finished clay - from bricks to the finished plastering and mortar boards, the most used are the clay roof and ceramic flooring. Clay is also used in combination with various other natural materials. It is particularly well suited for the rehabilitation of old buildings. In our case, the insulating walls plaster argillaceous used in combination with records of cane, which has improved properties heat-insulation clay.

Reeds was one of the natural materials that were in the form of roofing often used in traditional Slovenian construction, very suitable for the reconstruction of those old buildings, which are involved in cultural heritage. The insulation boards are produced mainly by cane that are designed to isolation both external and internal parts of the structure. On the marketplace it is possible to obtain plates of standard construction dimensions, which facilitates installation.

Industrial hemp fibers are used in the construction for insulating purposes. The hemp is a very good insulating material; good vapor diffusion enables automatic control of moisture, which creates a favorable environment in residential areas. Isolation of cannabis is available in the form of sheets or rolls. Installation is simple and almost free of dust particles. It is used to isolate the entire building structure - floors, walls and roofs. In project Smart house the cannabis in combination with sawdust has been used for floor insulation.

The wood is one of the most organic and natural materials used for millennia in the construction area. In addition to its structural properties, today its use is increasing mainly because of its positive impact on the facility and stay in it. Properties of wood, which is preferred over other materials, and aspects of the multiplicity of its use are shown in: ability to breathe, to regulate moisture, filtration and cleaning the air, the absence of electrostatic charge, relatively good thermal insulation, pleasantness to the touch ... The positives of the show also in terms of carbon emissivity as a wood products at the end of its life a negligible carbon footprint (of course there a lot depends on the type of product). In the area of ​​insulation is used in prefabricated panel construction, which in combination with other materials capable of producing structural assemblies with extremely low thermal transitions. In our project the roof panels of wood fiber were used for insulating the.

The coconut fibers have good compressive strength; panels that are manufactured from them have good thermal and acoustic insulation properties. They are suitable for protection against summer overheating are strong, durable, resistant to moths, mildew, rot, abrasion and disintegration, hard combustible and non-static. Their maintenance is easy. They are suitable for thermal insulation of roofs and walls, sealing doors and windows, and acoustic protection in wet and dry screed. In the renovation the coconut fibers have been used to improve the insulating capacity of the roof.

In the construction the use of paper products from paper pulp is rather broad - in our project was cellulose used as a means of insulating the roof. The advantage of cellulose flakes for this is that it is a recycled product. Cellulose flakes are made from paper and are particularly suitable for the isolation of slanted roofs, ceilings and walls, as they prevent the overheating of the housing. It is also possible their use in isolation of the soil.

Straw is the material, historically known primarily as material for roofing. Like clay the use of straw recently re-grows mainly due to good thermal insulation capacity, it is also useful as a sound insulator. The use mostly straw mats or fill in a wooden skeleton building and roof insulation. In combination with a clay plaster the straw is also used for wall insulation. With proper installation and handling of these boards is that all the negative features greatly improved. For roof insulating of Smart house the straw was also used in this case.

Indication for the Bio-construction Action Plan

• On our opinion the biggest obstacle for companies to invest in eco-technology is lack of financial resources, as commercial and financial incentives of the country.
• To stimulate company’s investments in eco-technology actions would be required: irreversible investment assets (subsidy) or co-funding initiative eco-technologies, tax relief for purchasing eco-technology solutions, affordable credits for deployment of eco-technologies.

Possible criteria for MED bio-housing quality certificate

• Slovenia does not have a natural material manufacturer for construction purposes (other then wood), even though we are nature sufficient. The main reason is that only a few studies were made, and more attention should be paid to researches and certification of these materials. In the meantime in Germany and Austria, which have paid a lot of intention to researches and certification of natural materials for construction purposes, have a number of enforced companies.

• It is possible to get an insight on the certificate for imported, industrially produced natural materials, for the purchase and use of indigenous materials such as straw, clay we can rely only on the honesty of a men in which we purchase the material.
• Increased confidence in natural building materials would certainly increase the adequate and with legislation regulated certification system of building materials. 

Case studies

−       Bistra hiša - Smart house (Martjanci, Slovenia)

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