Handbook of Energy Efficiency in Buildings – A life cycle approach - Chapter 6.1 “Physical Properties of Building Materials”

Materials constituting the buildings envelope must fulfill numerous tasks, as they play the role of mean of separation between the indoor ambient and the outdoor environment. Buildings continuously exchange heat, radiation, light, humidity, and noise with the surroundings through the opaque and transparent surfaces. It is therefore of primary importance the knowledge of the physical parameters influencing these interactions, with particular emphasis to the measurement techniques and procedures. The following paragraphs start with the analysis of the properties linked to the heat exchange, moving then to radiative and lighting characteristics, followed by the acoustic and hygrometric features and a mention of building materials embodied energy. The chapter ends with a review of the previous indicated properties for the most common materials used in the construction sector.