P oceedings o he II In e na ional and IV Na ional Cong ess on Sus ainable Cons uc ion and Eco-
E icien Solu ions
843
‘CONS’ AT THE MOMENT OF INTRODUCING NEW ECO-EFFICIENT
TECHNOLOGIES TO BUILD A DETACHED HOUSE. CASE STUDY: A HOUSE IN
PALOMARES DEL RIO (SEVILLE)
1
*Mo eno Rangel, Da id;
1
Fe nández Expósi o, Manuel;
1
Esqui ias Fe nández, Paula
M.
1
G upo TEP 130: “A qui ec u a, Pa imonio y Sos enibilidad: Acús ica, Iluminación,
Óp ica y Ene gía”. Ins i u o Uni e si a io de A qui ec u a y Ciencias de la
Cons ucción (IUACC). Uni e sidad de Se illa.
A enida de la Reina Me cedes 2, 41012 Se illa, España
e-mail: *da idmo[email p o ec ed]
ABSTRACT
The need o cons uc ion and es o a ion o buildings wi hin an ecological and sus ainable
manne is highligh ed in his inc easingly awa e global wo ld; so i is e y easy o ail hinking
on how simple i could be o execu e ce ain eco-e icien cons uc i e p oposal in any
p ojec , no ma e i s size.
Despi e ha ing p e ious expe iences in cons uc ion o se e al p e ab ica ed buildings ( i e
s a ions, o ices, schools), and pa icipa ing in some impo an esea ch p ojec s on s udying
new eco-e icien cons uc i e p oposals o dwellings, as he Pa io 2.12 p ojec o Sola
Deca hlon Eu ope 2012, ha was he mis ake ou eam ailed in o when we decided o
inco po a e a new mo e e icien cons uc i e sys em in a p i a e p omo ed de ached house
p ojec .
This wo ks shows, by means o a eal and buil example, ha kind o hings ha is no usually
old in a cong ess o an a icle: all hose p oblems ound du ing he inco po a ion p ocess
which ha e o be con olled o imp o e he iabili y o any building p ojec which p e ends o
apply new solu ions.
In his case, he p oblem was o mo e om a adi ional de ached house p ojec based on a
sys em o s uc u al walls wi h 3cm o insula ion, plas e ed and pain ed, loo slabs wi h
beams and conc e e slabs, balus ades and small windows, pi ched oo s... (p i a e
p omo e ’s i s idea) o a con empo a y house p ojec based on a S eel F ame sys em wi h
14cm o insula ion, and mul iple eco-e icien a chi ec u al s a egies, wi h mezzanine loo ,
double heigh and la ge windows( inal p ojec ) ... a he same p ice and lesse execu ion
ime.
All hose p oblems ou eam had o ace and he di e en cons uc i e p oposals and
p o essional decisions we eached ou du ing he di e en phases o his p ojec , om i s
s ages o he end o he building p ocess, o ob ain a he same p ice a de ached house
execu ed in less ime and wi h mo e ma e ial and en i onmen al quali y han a adi ional one
h ough he inco po a ion o eco-e icien p oposals a e shown in his pape by adding eal
budge s, ime p og ams, compa a i e s udies, ske ches, d awings and pho og aphs.
In spi e o he economical c isis, his house has isen 50% in alue.
Keywo ds: Eco-e icien p oposals, S eel ame, Viabili y, Rise in alue
Chap e III – Ene gy E iciency
844
1.-In oduc ion
The wo ld o he cons uc ion in pa icula and he socie y in gene al is, o una ely,
inc easingly a oused by he need o cons uc and ehabili a e ollowing an ecological
and sus ainable speech [1]. A chi ec u e is been complemen ed wi h adjec i es ha
y o desc ibe a cou se o he change (ecological, g een, sus ainable, eco-e icien ,
bioclima ic, en i onmen al …) in spi e o he ac ha s ill we do no know he
di e ences be ween he di e en meanings o hose adjec i es.
The ma ke is been illed wi h pa en s comme cialized by huge companies,
cons uc i e o s uc u al solu ions, ega ding hyg o he mal condi ioning, ene gy
e icien al e na i es, ha assu e o imp o e he quali y o li e minimizing hei
en i onmen al impac [2].
Eco-e icien cons uc i e solu ions a e necessa y, his is well-known and ew people
will ques ion his eali y. Ne e heless we a e no always conscious abou he
di icul y an a chi ec has o ace wi h a he momen o wan ing o in oduce one o
hese cons uc i e al e na i es in any a chi ec u al p ojec .
Facing his pano ama i is easy o all down in he mis ake o hinking how easy i
could be o execu e ce ain eco-e icien solu ions in any p ojec [3] [4], o small ha
i could be, especially when he de elope companies a e anxious o ob ain clien s
and o demons a e hei scien i ic p og esses and ha ’s why hey will p o ide
a chi ec s any help hey need.
In spi e o p e ious expe ience a he execu ion o di e en p e ab ica ed buildings
( i e s a ions, o ices, schools, housings) and pa icipa ion in some impo an esea ch
p ojec s ocused on inding new eco-e icien cons uc i e solu ions o dwellings (as
he Pa io 2.12 p ojec o he Sola Deca hlon Eu ope 2012 compe i ion) his one was
he mis ake we did when we decided o apply a new mo e e icien cons uc ion
sys em when a p i a e p omo e ask us o design and build an single- amily house.
2.-Objec i es
The aim o his wo k will be o show by means o a eal and execu ed case s udy,
hose aspec s ha is no usually old in an a icle o in a con e ence: all he
disad an ages o hese p ocesses ha need o be con olled o p o ide iabili y o
any p ojec ying o apply new eco-e icien solu ions. Fi s ly his wo k will compa e
he adi ional and habi ual cons uc i e sys ems wi h hei eco-e icien al e na i es
highligh ing he ad an ages, bu no icing he disad an ages ha a ise du ing he
whole building p ocess ( om he p elimina y design up o he end o he execu ion o
he building).
3.-Me hodology
The case s udy is a building p ojec which a chi ec s a e wo o he au ho s o his
wo k (D . Da id Mo eno Rangel and Manuel Fe nández Expósi o). The asks done
and he di icul ies ound will be desc ibed in a sequen ial p ocess o each s age o
he a chi ec u al p ojec .
P o ided ha his case s udy has se ed as base o he elabo a ion o a Mas e
Thesis o he s uden En ique Ramos To es i led ‘al e na i e cons uc i e sys ems:
p e ab ica ion and indus ializa ion’ supe ised by D . Da id Mo eno Rangel, some o
his esea ch esul s will be shown o suppo some conside a ions and conclusions o
his communica ion.
The main objec i e o his wo k is o b ing o ligh cu en ly in exis ence al e na i e
cons uc i e sys ems showing hei cha ac e is ics and basic speci ica ions:
ma e ials, cons uc i e sec ions, assembly, execu ion imes, economical aspec s,
echnical di icul ies among o he s aspec s.
P oceedings o he II In e na ional and IV Na ional Cong ess on Sus ainable Cons uc ion and Eco-
E icien Solu ions
845
Al hough some exempli ica ions a e made based on his p ojec , his expe ience is
acqui ed a e he execu ion o di e se p omo ions o his ypology, including he
pa icipa ion in he esea ch p ojec abou eco-e icien and sus ainable de ached
house o Sola Deca hlon Eu ope: Pa io 2.12.
4.-Case s udy
A single- amily house placed a he council a ea o Paloma es del Río (Se ille,
Spain) is p oposed as case s udy. I is de eloped in a unique loo . The li ing oom
has he double o he no mal heigh and i has a small mezzanine. I s buil a ea is o
135.74 m
2
and a use ul o al a ea o 117.23 m
2
(Table 1).
Use ul a ea
117,23 m
2
G ound loo
105,89 m
2
Bed oom 1 8,79 m
2
Bed oom 2 8,82 m
2
Bed oom 3 8,54 m
2
Bed oom 4 15,34 m
2
Ba h oom 1 4,09 m
2
Ba h oom 2 4,12 m
2
Co ido 6,13 m
2
Hall 5,84 m
2
Ki chen 8,80 m
2
Li ing-dining oom 35,42 m
2
Mezzanine
11,34 m
2
S udio 11,34 m
2
Table 1 “Use ul a ea o he case s udy”
I has ou bed ooms ( wo doubles and wo singles), wo ba h ooms, a d essing oom,
a ki chen, a hall, a double-heigh li ing oom, a s udio and a dining oom ( ig. 1).
Fig. 1 “Case s udy: g ound loo , mezzanine and wo pe spec i e iews”. Sou ce:
es udio Heliopausa
Chap e III – Ene gy E iciency
846
I is placed no cen ed a he op o i s 1100 m
2
piece o g ound, opening wo big
windows acing sou heas owa ds he ee a ea o he plo whe e he p ope y will
c ea e a ga den and build a swimming pool ( ig. 2).
Fig. 2 “Case s udy: Final loca ion a he plo and some pho og aphs du ing he
execu ion”. Sou ce: es udio Heliopausa
P oceedings o he II In e na ional and IV Na ional Cong ess on Sus ainable Cons uc ion and Eco-
E icien Solu ions
847
This case s udy has also been aken by En ique Ramos To es as an example o
de elop his Mas e Thesis i led ‘al e na i e cons uc i e sys ems: p e ab ica ion and
indus ializa ion’ wi hin he mas e cou se Sus ainable Ci y and A chi ec u e, o icial
i le o he Uni e si y o Se ille.
5.-Ini ial s udies
The e we e se e al s a poin p emises exposed by p omo e s ha helped o
con ince hem abou he need o use indus ialized and p e ab ica ed cons uc i e
solu ions [5] [6], in oducing eco-e icien solu ions ha clea ly imp o ed hei quali y
o li e as well as he ela ionship be ween use ul su ace/buil su ace.
- The house had o be buil wi hin 4 mon hs
- The imp o emen o he adi ional habi abili y condi ions esul ed om an sel -
buil house
A ini ial design s age, six di e en design we e made ( ig. 4) complemen ed wi h
hei co esponding s udy o su aces and economic alua ion compa ed wi h he
adi ional sys em and o he al e na i e p e ab ica ed sys ems ( ig. 3). I has o be
no iced in his momen ha he e we e impo an economic di e ences be ween
hose o e s ecei ed by cons uc ion companies specialized in adi ional solu ions
and by hose companies ocused on any eco-e icien sys em, a his p elimina y
design s age, all o hem made by eal companies and unde compe i i e
speci ica ions.
In his s age Balloon ame (26% cheape han a adi ional one), S eel ame (simila
o e ), S eel box (5% mo e expensi e han a adi ional one) and p e ab ica ed
conc e e elemen s (38% mo e expensi e han a adi ional) companies we e
analysed.
A e he i s mee ing wi h p omo e s ano he se en a ia ions we e decided o be
done ying o adap o he needs o hem and o he cons uc i e and echnique
equi emen s o he chosen p e ab ica ed solu ion.
Fig. 3 “Case s udy: es ima ed economic compa ison”. Sou ce: es udio Heliopausa

Chap e III – Ene gy E iciency
848
Fig. 4 “Case s udy: ini ial p oposals”. Sou ce: es udio Heliopausa
The inal solu ion was alued by 82 companies, 71 o hem we e na ional companies
and 11 o hem we e o eign companies, specialized in 7 di e en p e ab ica ed and
indus ialized solu ions ( ig. 5): p ojec ed conc e e o e expanded polys y ene (EPS),
EPS panels shu e ing, EPS blocks shu e ing, p e ab ica ed conc e e panels, c oss-
ib es lamina ed wood panels, Balloon ame and S eel ame.
P oceedings o he II In e na ional and IV Na ional Cong ess on Sus ainable Cons uc ion and Eco-
E icien Solu ions
849
Fig. 5 “Dis ibu ion o o e s ob ained by solu ion”. Sou ce: En ique Ramos To es
(Mas e Final P ojec )
Mos o hese companies sen a budge s uc u ed by chap e s wi hou de ails abou
hei componen s. A he second equi emen hey educed he budge . The cos s o
hose chap e s a e compa ed below ( ig. 6)
Fig. 6 “Compa ison o he 1s and he 2nd economic o e s ecei ed classi ied by
cons uc i e solu ions”. Sou ce: En ique Ramos To es (Mas e Final P ojec )
A compa ison be ween U- alues ob ained wi h e e y sys em as ‘de aul op ion’
sugges ed by he company and hose heo e ical alues based on he Ca alogue o
Cons uc ion Elemen s o he Spanish Building Code was also made ( ig. 7), as well
as a compa ison be ween a e age execu ion imes o he end o he building
gua an eed by he company ( ig. 8)
Chap e III – Ene gy E iciency
850
Fig. 7 “Case s udy: heo e ical U- alues s p o ided U- alues”. Sou ce: En ique
Ramos To es (Mas e Final P ojec )
Fig. 8 “Case s udy: Cons uc i e solu ions, a e age gua an eed execu ion ime and
cos s by mon h”. Sou ce: En ique Ramos To es (Mas e Final P ojec )
Taking in o conside a ion all o hese aspec s and he equi emen s o he p omo e s,
S eel F ame s uc u al sys em was chosen.
A summa y o he cons uc i e cha ac e is ics o e e y adop ed solu ion is shown
below.
5.1-S uc u al sys em
5.1.1-Founda ion
Acco ding o he geo echnical s udy o de ed o CEMOSA, a ounda ion was execu ed
based on a ein o ced conc e e slab o 40 cm heigh (HA 25-B-30-IIa, no mal con ol,
B-400-S) placed a 1 m dep h espec o g ound su ace. This slab was on a 10 cm o
P oceedings o he II In e na ional and IV Na ional Cong ess on Sus ainable Cons uc ion and Eco-
E icien Solu ions
851
pou ed conc e e (HL-150/B/20). I has some embedded Jim en sinks as pa o he
sewage sys em.
5.1.2-Suppo ing s uc u e
The suppo ing s uc u e is a S eel F ame s uc u al sys em composed by 2 mm hick
S250GDZ275 gal anized s eel p o iles, disposed a e ically (C- o m, 175.5x50 mm)
and ho izon ally (U- o m, 200x75 mm) linked be ween hem and wi h ounda ion by
means o hexagonal head sel -sc ew bol s o 6.3x25 mm.
5.2-Cons uc ion elemen s
5.2.1-Ve ical ex e nal wall
Ex e nal he mal Isola ion sys em composed by: s a ing sc ewed s eel p o ile,
ea men o he i oc panels suppo s wi h RHONA A-2000 de ices o b idge he
gap, apping o igid expanded polys y ene panels (acco ding o UNE-EN 13499 wi h
mo a RHONA T-700) and ixing clea s sp ead co e ing 6 uni /m
2
, ein o ce de ices
a e e y co ne by means o co ne b acke s; supe icial panel p o ec ion based on
wo mo a laye s ein o ced wi h alkali- esis an ib e glass mesh RHONAMESH T-
150 o 145 g /m
2
; i s coa laye done wi h REVIQUARZ; inal coa ing made wi h
whi e ac ylic mo a REVIQUARZ. In e io inishing made wi h plas e boa d panels o
15 mm hickness ancho ed o omega- o m s eel p o iles. The ai gap o his s uc u al
sys em has been illed wi h 10 cm o ock wool o 100 kg/m
3
.
5.2.2-Roo
The oo is composed by a non-wo en double geo ex ile laye dano el y PY300 wi h
sho polyes e ib es o 300 g /m
2
. Wa e p oo laye o g ey colou ed plas icised
poly inyl chlo ide (PVC) Rheno ol CG 1,2 ein o ced wi h non-wo en glass ib e
syn he ic el wi h a du abili y o 40 yea s, exposed e en a he DIT400/R-09 in
acco dance wi h CTE. Fla oo sys em is inished by means o po ous il ón slab and
ex uded polys y ene, DANALOSA b and o 50x50 cm and 75 mm hickness.
Rainwa e sys em is made by ‘plu ia de Gebe i ’ sys em connec ed o sewage
sys em.
5.2.3-Openings
PVC ame windows o di e en sizes and dimensions. Secu i y glazing 4+4 wi h 6
mm o bu yl, ai gap o 10 mm, and 4+4 wi h 6 mm o bu yl. Kimbe ling p emiline PVC
ame sys em wi h he mal b eak and neop ene ai igh ness join s. Slide, close and
secu i y ea u es.
5.2.4-Pa i ions
Made by means o plas e boa d pa i ion 46/600 composed by wo plas e boa d
laye s o 15 mm hickness each sc ewed a each side o a gal anized s eel s uc u e
o ho izon al and e ical p o iles o 46 mm wi h a sepa a ion o 600 mm be ween
axis. Be ween he wo double plas e boa d laye s he pa i ion inco po a e a ock
wool panel o 40 mm hickness.
5.2.5-Building se ices
Con en ional building se ices a e implemen ed. The house is comple ely equipped
wi h plumbing, sewage, elec ici y, elecommunica ions, cooling and hea ing ac i e
sys ems (a i eplace included), sola collec o s and hyb id en ila ion se ices.
I has o be highligh ed he Gebe i sys em ins alled a he oo o execu e i wi hou
slope, as well as hose Jim en sinks embedded in he ein o ced conc e e slab.