Thermal efficiency of traditional building materials in diverse climates: The literature review
Doha CHBARI, Oumaima Ait Rami, Kaoutar Ouali
Abstract. This paper evaluates the thermal characteristics of traditional building materials commonly used in five countries with diverse climatic conditions: Morocco, Fin-land, India, Mexico, and Japan. Traditional materials such as rammed earth, stone, date palm fiber, wood, lime, adobe, bamboo, and thatched roofs were evaluated in terms of their thermal conductivity and their capacity to moderate indoor temperatures effectively. Using literature review methodology, comparative studies were conducted to quantify decreases in cooling and heating loads, indoor thermal comfort enhancements, and possible energy savings for each material. Principal results indicated that Moroccan rammed earth significantly re-duces the heating demand by up to 32%, Finnish wood construction contains ap-proximately 69% less embodied energy compared to concrete, Indian earthen plasters reduce indoor temperatures by a significant amount ranging from 4°C to 6°C, Mexican adobe walls has a thermal conductivity of 0.69 W/m·K effectively reducing the indoor temperatures significantly, and Japanese thatched roofs re-duce interior temperatures by about 5°C to 7°C compared to the exterior temperatures. The results highlight the importance of employing local low-energy traditional materials in significantly enhancing thermal comfort, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability, thereby qualifying them as materials of high interest for sustainable building practice particularly under various climatic conditions.
Keywords
Thermal Performance, Traditional Building Materials, Energy Efficiency, Climatic Conditions, Sustainable Construction
Published online 1/10/2026, 9 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Doha CHBARI, Oumaima Ait Rami, Kaoutar Ouali, Thermal efficiency of traditional building materials in diverse climates: The literature review, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 58, pp 130-138, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903933-18
The article was published as article 18 of the book Emerging Research in Materials for Environment, and Civil Infrastructure
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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