Energy Efficiency in Building Envelope

The construction sector both residential and tertiary is undergoing a major expansion in Morocco. At present there is an extraordinary boom in construction activity. A significant increase in the housing stock is therefore expected based on the State''s short- and medium-term construction programs and the projections of the Statistics Directorate of the Haut-Commissariat au Plan. The new housing stock which will be built over the next twenty years is estimated at about three million units. In addition users of existing buildings suffer from serious problems due to the form and materiality of the building material. This is because incoming shortwave solar radiation is mainly stored in building materials such as concrete stone and asphalt and is then radiated as longwave heat into the urban atmosphere. This leads to the well-known urban heat islands and heat stresses. Urban heat causes many problems: infrastructure deterioration or failure (road melting breakdowns) thermal discomfort and low productivity hygiene (reduced physical and cognitive performance) and health and safety problems (respiratory heart and kidney problems) and additional deaths.