Thermal Efficiency of Polystyrene-Filled Concrete Blocks in Residential Buildings: A Case Study in Al Amarah City

The housing sector accounts for a high percentage of total energy consumption in Iraq, with most energy usage on air-conditioning systems in summer to provide comfort to residents. This study simulates energy consumption for a typical 200 m², two-story, single-family building in Al Amarah city, Iraq, to compare heating, cooling, and total energy use across three different building configurations. Locally manufactured hollow concrete blocks made with 40 × 20 × 20 cm3 dimensions were adopted to improve their thermal performance by filling the cavities with Polystyrene insulation. The research examined three residential building configurations: (i) a base case built with traditional fired-clay brick, (ii) hollow concrete block walls free of insulation, and (iii) hollow concrete block walls incorporating thermal insulation. Energy simulations using eQUEST software were conducted, utilising the thermal response factor method as the primary tool to analyse the impact of external environmental conditions on cooling and heating loads. The results demonstrated significant annual energy savings for the building with hollow concrete blocks with and without insulation. However, insulated hollow concrete blocks showed reduced annual energy consumption compared to the common brick building system. Specifically, the insulated and uninsulated blocks attained energy savings by 29.4% and 16.08%, respectively, for north-facing orientation.