Buildings are responsible for more than 40% of the energy consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions. Thus, increasing building energy efficiency is one the most cost-effective ways to
reduce emissions. The use of thermal insulation materials could constitute the most effective way of
reducing heat losses in buildings by minimising heat energy needs. These materials have a thermal
conductivity factor, k (W/m.K) lower than 0.065 while other insulation materials such as aerated
concrete can go up to 0.11. Current insulation materials are associated with negative impacts in
terms of toxicity. Polystyrene, for example contains anti-oxidant additives and ignition retardants.
In addition, its production involves the generation of benzene and chlorofluorocarbons.
Polyurethane is obtained from isocyanates, which are widely known for their tragic association with
the Bhopal disaster. Besides current insulation materials releases toxic fumes when subjected to
fire. This paper presents experimental results on one-part geopolymers. It also includes global
warming potential assessment and cost analysis. The results show that only the use of aluminium
powder allows the production mixtures with a high compressive strength however its high cost
means they are commercially useless when facing the competition of commercial cellular concrete.
The results also show that one-part geopolymer mixtures based on 26%OPC +58.3%FA +8%CS
+7.7%CH and 3.5% hydrogen peroxide constitute a promising cost efficient (67 euro/m3), thermal
insulation solution for floor heating systems with low global warming potential of 443 KgCO2eq/m3.