STUDY OF ECO GLASS IN BUILDINGS LOCATED IN TROPICAL CLIMATES

Abstract

In these recent years, there have been an increasing concern for the environment due to the concern of global warming as well as the depletion of natural material. Thus, environmental sustainability is becoming an important topic in order to help minimize the negative impact on the environment. This concern towards the environment translates to the building and construction industry as well. This is why green and sustainable building is becoming an important goal. Industry players are researching on ways to make the industry more efficient and environmentally responsible so as to play a part in environment sustainability. With glass as a building material, they are becoming a popular choice in this industry as they are an alternative to the common building materials such as concrete. They are listed as green building materials which should be utilise more often in the industry. The life-cycle process of glass are relatively better for the environment. Glass is an efficient material as it does not require natural resources that are depleting. They are made of sand and glass waste and they are materials that can be recycled for use over and over again. Not only are they efficient to produce, they bring about energy savings to the building as well as glass will reduce the reliance on energy by bringing natural energy like sunlight into the building. There have been many research and development done on glass to further improve their benefits towards building. These types of new glass technology are known as eco glass. Photochromic, thermochromic and switchable glass are a few examples of eco glass. These types of glass helps to lower the amount of sun rays entering into the building as they can exist in a tinted state. This would in turn result in lower thermal energy being transmitted into the building which is a common problem for buildings in the tropical climates. Therefore, they can help the building to be more green and sustainable in comparison with the common glass varieties. This study will help determine if glass is truly a green and sustainable building material and how it can help the building and construction industry move towards the goal of environmental sustainability.