Sustainable housing using lightweight cellular concrete

Using lightweight technologies, such as precast cellular concrete wall panels, provides an opportunity to reduce the environmental footprint of construction materials, through the general reduction in materials usage, reduced transportation and lifting energy, potential improvements of in-service energy efficiency and improved recyclability. This paper presents the results of an environmental analysis of a new load-bearing cellular concrete system and more traditional wall systems such as brick veneer, double brick and autoclaved aerated concrete. The results show that for residential buildings, the precast cellular concrete wall panel system has superior environmental performance in terms of reduced embodied energy, embodied water and greenhouse gas emissions when compared to traditional systems. This suggests that such building systems may play a crucial role in the future development of sustainable and environmentally friendly housing.