Abstract: This paper is concerned with the determination of the thermal energy performances of individual houses built with “H” shape bricks in hot and dry tropical climate (different cities of Burkina Faso and the city of Bamako in Mali). The bricks’ matrices include three void spaces which are filled during construction with either clay-grass mixture or with entirely clay matter. After measuring the diffusivity of the clay matter and cement bricks samples utilizing the Flash method, we determine the “H” shape bricks’ thermal equivalent conductivity using the HEAT software. The house, modeled utilizing the TRNSYS software, reveals that, besides their economical and environmental advantages, houses constructed with “H” shape bricks filled with clay, show approximately the same energy consumption patterns as void cement bricks houses. On the other hand, houses built utilizing “H” shape bricks filled with clay-grass mixture, which have low thermal conductivity, show a reduced air conditioning load. We also study the influence of the building orientation on the energy consumption.

Key words: “H” shape bricks’, clay-grass bricks, clay bricks, Flash method.

“H” shape bricks’ clay-grass bricks clay bricks