Evaluating the Thermal Behavior of a Sustainable Room and Roof Prototype Using Recycled Waste Materials

Abstract

This work shows a proposed room prototype and its thermal behavior evaluation. The room was built by using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles filled with soil from the site for its walls and a roof made of multiple layers of reused materials. The construction had a green roof and skylights that were constructed out of upcycled entire glass bottles. Thermal measurements were made indoors and outdoors over the course of one year. Temperature and humidity sensors were used for internal measurements, and, at the same time, a reference sensor recorded data that corresponded to external environmental conditions. The constructed building differed by an average of 8.5 °C from the reference measurements of the external environment and an average of 24.24% in relative humidity. Thermograms were taken from the outside walls, which reached 54.2 °C, while internal wall temperatures reached 25.5 °C. Additionally, a thermal transfer simulation of the prototype was accomplished by using COMSOL Multiphysics. Simulation results approximated the experimental data. The prototype had low daily thermal fluctuations, which was considered a desirable thermal behavior. These results, along with the self-building practices, low costs, and reuse of waste materials, makes this kind of building a potentially feasible alternative.