The key findings of first phase of research were:
- Insulated cavity brick was the highest performer in producing energy efficient housing
- Thermal mass in floors alone is not sufficient to reduce extremes in temperature
- There is no correlation between the R-Value of a wall and energy usage
- R-Value is not the sole predictor of thermal performance
- Lightweight buildings perform the worst in all seasons
- Brick veneer performs better than lightweight building materials.
Think Brick says the findings showed ‘irrefutably’ that thermal mass of cavity brick levels out temperature swings during the heat of summer and the cold of winter.
The full report and summary document, entitled “Energy Efficiency - A Study of the Thermal Performance of Australian Housing,” can be downloaded at the Think Brick website here.
