This study focused on enhancing the thermal properties of fiber cement product, and the natural fibers with a length in the range of 5-10 mm were used.
The longer fibers can create larger pores within the cement matrix which caused an impact on the thermal insulation properties of the product.
There are three main sources of electrical energy consumption in residential build ings in hot-humid climate, namely in descending order of energy consumed: air-conditioning, electric appliances and artificial light ing.
The aspect of residential buildings that most influences their reliance on air-conditioning is the building envelope compo nents, particularly the thermal properties of wall and roof I20,11 l This research aims to study and develop fiber cement products made from natural materials, including coconut coir fiber and oil palm fiber, to be used as roof sheets and wall panels.
The choice of material is expected to be widely used in the markets of Thailand, located in the tropical region, due to their lower produc tion cost and the fact that they contain no harmful toxic sub- stances. At present, commercially available fiber cement tiles are produced using combination of natural and synthetic fibers, which have similar properties compared with other types of roof sheets and are often more durable, with better impact resistance and heat insulation compared to asbestos cement roof sheets.
Furthermore the production of fiber cement roof sheets using natural fibers is still low. Therefore, once the use of these natural materials increases, the production costs will be reduced and natural fiber will be a viable alternative to synthetic materials, which waste both energy and resources in their production.