The effect of materials on energy consumption, carbon production and thermal comfort in office building in hot and humid, hot and dry and cold, Iran

Thermal properties of materials are one of the important factors determining cooling and heating load of the building. Buildings environmental sustainability is affected by energy consumption and harmful emissions of materials. Therefore, in addition to thermal properties, material life cycle and embodied energy and carbon should also be considered. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of different materials on thermal performance and energy efficiency in office buildings. For this purpose, materials with different thermal properties in 18 states are considered in a typical building for ceilings, floors, exterior and interior walls. Thermal simulations have been done using Designbuilder Software for Bushehr, Shiraz and Tabriz for a typical year. Based on the results, the best and worst modes in terms of energy consumption and produced carbon are the same in three cities but not similar to discomfort hours. This is due to the difference in amount of cooling and heating loads in various climates. The difference between the best and worst modes is 24 to 46 percent in energy consumption, 25 to 43 percent in carbon dioxide and depending on the climate 6 to 134 percent in discomfort hours.