Prefabricated buildings mainly refer to buildings assembled from prefabricated components on the construction site. It is a flexible, low-cost, high-efficiency and safe industrialized construction method.
With prefabricated building technology, any type of high-quality, energy-efficient building can be built in a short time.
Moreover, prefabrication transfers traditional on-site construction to the factory floor, and produces high-quality components through a controlled process, thereby significantly improving production efficiency. Do you know the many advantages of prefabricated buildings? Let's take a look!
1. Prefabrication is more energy efficient
Precast concrete has multiple energy-saving benefits: precast buildings are able to absorb and store excess heat and cold, releasing it slowly back into the air. Prestressed hollow core slabs can be used to form cooling systems.
Compared with ordinary air conditioners, it can effectively save up to 50% of energy. The special insulation layer in the sandwich wall panels can significantly reduce energy consumption.
2. Prefabrication is more beautiful
Prefabrication can produce components of any shape and color through different techniques. Patterned concrete is the creation of various lasting patterns and images on precast concrete elements such as cladding, siding and pavement.
3. Prefabrication can optimize the use of raw materials
Prestressed hollow-core slabs are a good example of efficient use of raw materials. It can save up to 45% in concrete usage compared to traditional cast-in-place reinforced concrete slabs.
At the same time, because of its low self-weight, the usage of prestressed steel strands can also be saved by 30%. For an average apartment building, this means saving 14.4 tonnes of concrete and 275 tonnes of steel.
4. Prefabrication is safer and the quality is more guaranteed:
Precast concrete is manufactured in a factory environment. On the factory floor, there are controlled processes and more automated controls. This not only means outstanding material, labor, energy and process resource efficiency, but also high-quality and dimensionally precise products.
Construction sites with prefabricated elements require less scaffolding. There are no toxic substances in the prefab and no chemical treatments are required to protect the prefab.
The installation of precast concrete is much less disruptive to the site environment than other building materials. Moreover, less construction waste and dust are generated, and the noise is also smaller.
Well-assembled, high-quality prefab units provide a safer environment for residents because prefab units do not become breeding grounds for harmful microbes, even after many years.
5. Prefab fits anywhere:
Prefab buildings can be used to construct almost any type of building.
Prefabricated buildings are well suited for tropical, cold and seismic regions. Prefabricated siding also withstands harsh weather conditions, including sub-zero temperatures combined with high salinity and rainy climates
Intensifying hurricanes and tornadoes due to climate change pose serious challenges to building materials. Concrete wall systems have been proven to withstand the winds of all known hurricanes, as well as more than 99 percent of tornadoes, according to a study by Texas Technical University's Wind Energy Engineering Research Center.
Precast concrete can be used in various types of buildings:
● Apartment buildings ● Industrial plants
● Office buildings ● Parking garages
● shopping malls ● villas
● Public buildings ● Agricultural farms
● Logistic facilities ● Fences
6. Higher quality, better price and more sustainable
The short building construction time, cost-effectiveness of the construction process and low maintenance costs throughout the building's lifecycle make prefabrication the best choice for many large-scale real estate projects that seek efficiency and capacity.
Using prefabs allows your project to:
● Use 20-30% less steel, cement and concrete
● Reduce labor force by 50%
● Construction speed is 2-3 times faster
Precast consumes less raw material than cast-in-place. As a result, construction projects using precast concrete will have a smaller carbon footprint. In addition, prefabricated elements have good thermal insulation properties, which reduce the overall CO2 load of the building over its service life.
In short, adopting prefab building technology means:
● Short construction period
● Cost-effective construction
● Lower carbon emissions than cast-in-place construction
● Use less cement, water, steel, less waste, less labor input and logistics costs
● Buildings last longer
● Flexible layout
● Flexible and free architectural design
● High quality buildings
● Better construction environment
