The Energy Efficient Walling Solution.

To create a masonry product that is truly energy efficient, not only the thermal performance of the product needs to be considered, but also the embodied energy (the energy consumed in the manufacturing process and transportation).

Cape Brick, located in Salt River, now manufactures concrete masonry units with possibly the lowest embodied energy of any masonry product available in the Western Cape today.

Cape Brick is one of the first masonry manufacturers to set up a crushing facility to reduce construction and demolition waste (C&DW) to recycled crushed aggregate (RCA). The RCA is then used as the main ingredient in a 14MPa concrete plaster brick. This has several advantages in terms of reducing embodied energy and preserving the environment:

• The C&DW would normally be dumped in landfill sites, thereby impacting on sensitive areas. Thus using RCA in the manufacture of concrete masonry products eases the pressure on the landfill sites. There is also a transport energy saving as Cape Brick is only 5kms from the city center where most demolition takes place.
• Using RCA means that less virgin materials such as sand and stone have to be quarried, thereby directly lessening the mining impact on the environment.
• Most of the sand and stone quarries are between 15kms and 50kms distant from Cape Brick, resulting in a large transport component for quarried raw materials. Thus a large transport energy saving is realized through the use of RCA.
• The quality of the RCA is actually superior to that of the quarried materials available at a similar price. This means that a lesser percentage of cement can be utilized in the concrete mix to achieve the same compressive strength, resulting in a further energy saving. (The use of slagment in the mix has also further reduced the amount of cement required and therefore lowered the embodied energy requirement).
• Cape Brick's own waste is processed into RCA, and therefore does not have to be disposed of.