scholarly journals Evaluation of the Environmental Performance of Residential Building Envelope Components

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serik Tokbolat ◽  
Farnush Nazipov ◽  
Jong R. Kim ◽  
Ferhat Karaca
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Energy Deficit ◽  
Comfort Levels ◽  
The Impact

The role of buildings in the context of addressing the consequences of climate change and the energy deficit is becoming increasingly important due to their share in the overall amount of green house gas (GHG) emissions and rapidly growing domestic energy consumption worldwide. Adherence to a sustainability agenda requires ever-increasing attention to all stages of a building′s life, as such approach allows for the consideration of environmental impacts of a building, from design, through construction stages, until the final phase of a building′s life—demolition. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the most recognized and adopted models for the evaluation of the environmental performance of materials and processes. This paper aims to perform an LCA of four different types of residential buildings in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The assessment primarily considered embodied energy and GHG emissions as key assessment indicators. Findings suggest that the operational stage contributed to more than half of the GHG emissions in all the cases. The results of the study indicate that there is a dependence between the comfort levels and the impact of the buildings on the environment. The higher the comfort levels, the higher the impacts in terms of the CO2 equivalent. This conclusion is most likely to be related to the fact that the higher the comfort level, the higher the environmental cost of the materials. A similar correlation can be observed in the case of comparing building comfort levels and life-cycle impacts per user. There are fewer occupants per square meter as the comfort level increases. Furthermore, the obtained results suggest potential ways of reducing the overall environmental impact of the building envelope components.

The climatic influence on sustainable refurbishments and life cycle investing in Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Chris Heywood ◽  
Eckhart Hertzsch ◽  
Mirek Piechowski
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Capital Expenditure ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report an investigation of the effect of location on refurbishment strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the temperate and sub-tropical urban locations in Australia. This occurred within a larger research project that investigated methods for sustainable refurbishments to office buildings and their optimized timing from an investment perspective. Design/methodology/approach – An office building in Melbourne was used to develop seven sets of improvements using an integrated approach to upgrade mechanical services and the building envelope. Using asset management trigger points the impact on net present value and internal rate of return were calculated, taking into account the capital expenditure required, the energy savings due to the refurbishment, as well as a possible rental increase due to the upgrade and lesser operational energy bills for the tenants. To investigate the importance of the location attribute the upgraded building’s performance was modelled in a different climate by using a Brisbane weather file. Findings – A number of unexpected results were found, including that the same sets of improvements had similar reductions in GHG emissions in the two locations, they had similar impacts on the investment criteria and when using the National Australian Building Energy Rating System it was shown that it was easier and cheaper to get an uplift in stars in Melbourne than Brisbane. Research limitations/implications – This location-specific analysis is the result of using a more sophisticated and holistic methodology to analyse sustainable refurbishments that more closely resembles the complexity of the decision making required to make buildings more sustainable. Practical implications – This paper provides a basis for property investors to make decisions about sustainable investments when location is important. This can occur when a portfolio is distributed across various climate zones. Originality/value – The research project that the paper reports addresses the complexity of building attributes, possible sets of improvements to reduce GHG emissions and their investment decisions, within a life cycle view of assets. It is rare that this complexity is addressed as a whole, and rarer that locational climatic differences are examined.

scholarly journals Energy Consumption and Environment Performance Analysis of Induction-Healed Asphalt Pavement by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1244
Author(s):  
Qi Jiang ◽  
Fusong Wang ◽  
Quantao Liu ◽  
Jun Xie ◽  
Shaopeng Wu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Asphalt Pavement ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Emissions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Whole Life Cycle ◽  
Environment Performance

In this paper, the sustainability of induced healing asphalt pavement is demonstrated by comparing the impact of asphalt pavement maintained by induced healing asphalt pavement technology and traditional maintenance methods (such as milling and overlaying). The functional unit selected is a 1-km lane with an analysis period of 20 years. The stages to be considered are material manufacturing, paving, maintenance, milling and demolition. Two case studies were analyzed to assess the impact of different technologies on the energy consumption and environmental performance of each maintenance alternative. By comparing the energy consumption and environmental emissions of the whole life cycle of pavement under the two technical conditions, the results show that the total energy consumption of traditional asphalt pavement is about 2.5 times that of induction-healed asphalt pavement, and the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the former are twice as much as that of the latter.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Hybrid Energy Storage System for Residential Buildings in Continental Climates

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3820
Author(s):  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Energy Storage System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Hybrid Energy ◽  
Hybrid Energy Storage ◽  
Innovative System ◽  
The Impact

With the aim of contributing to achieving the decarbonization of the energy sector, the environmental impact of an innovative system to produce heating and domestic hot water for heating demand-dominated climates is assessed is evaluated. The evaluation is conducted using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the ReCiPe and IPCC GWP indicators for the manufacturing and operation stages, and comparing the system to a reference one. Results show that the innovative system has a lower overall impact than the reference one. Moreover, a parametric study to evaluate the impact of the refrigerant is carried out, showing that the impact of the overall systems is not affected if the amount of refrigerant or the impact of refrigerant is increased.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an Innovative Compact Hybrid Electrical-Thermal Storage System for Residential Buildings in Mediterranean Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5322
Author(s):  
Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽  
Noelia Llantoy ◽  
Valeria Palomba ◽  
Andrea Frazzica ◽  
Mattia Dallapiccola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Electrical Consumption ◽  
The Impact

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.

scholarly journals Life Cycle GHG Emissions of Residential Buildings in Humid Subtropical and Tropical Climates: Systematic Review and Analysis

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Daniel Satola ◽  
Martin Röck ◽  
Aoife Houlihan-Wiberg ◽  
Arild Gustavsen
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Tropical Climates ◽  
Building Life Cycle ◽  
Total Life

Improving the environmental life cycle performance of buildings by focusing on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions along the building life cycle is considered a crucial step in achieving global climate targets. This paper provides a systematic review and analysis of 75 residential case studies in humid subtropical and tropical climates. The study investigates GHG emissions across the building life cycle, i.e., it analyses both embodied and operational GHG emissions. Furthermore, the influence of various parameters, such as building location, typology, construction materials and energy performance, as well as methodological aspects are investigated. Through comparative analysis, the study identifies promising design strategies for reducing life cycle-related GHG emissions of buildings operating in subtropical and tropical climate zones. The results show that life cycle GHG emissions in the analysed studies are mostly dominated by operational emissions and are the highest for energy-intensive multi-family buildings. Buildings following low or net-zero energy performance targets show potential reductions of 50–80% for total life cycle GHG emissions, compared to buildings with conventional energy performance. Implementation of on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems provides the highest reduction potential for both operational and total life cycle GHG emissions, with potential reductions of 92% to 100% and 48% to 66%, respectively. Strategies related to increased use of timber and other bio-based materials present the highest potential for reduction of embodied GHG emissions, with reductions of 9% to 73%.

scholarly journals Sensitivity Analysis of Occupant Preferences on Energy Usage in Residential Buildings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaleb Pattawi ◽  
Prateek Munankarmi ◽  
Michael Blonsky ◽  
Jeff Maguire ◽  
Sivasathya Pradha Balamurugan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
The United States ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Electrical Grid ◽  
Home Energy Management ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Residential buildings, accounting for 37% of the total electricity consumption in the United States, are suitable for demand response (DR) programs to support effective and economical operation of the power system. A home energy management system (HEMS) enables residential buildings to participate in such programs, but it is also important for HEMS to account for occupant preferences to ensure occupant satisfaction. For example, people who prefer a higher thermal comfort level are likely to consume more energy. In this study, we used foresee™, a HEMS developed by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), to perform a sensitivity analysis of occupant preferences with the following objectives: minimize utility cost, minimize carbon footprint, and maximize thermal comfort. To incorporate the preferences into the HEMS, the SMARTER method was used to derive a set of weighting factors for each objective. We performed week-long building energy simulations using a model of a home in Fort Collins, Colorado, where there is mandatory time-of-use electricity rate structure. The foresee™ HEMS was used to control the home with six different sets of occupant preferences. The study shows that occupant preferences can have a significant impact on energy consumption and is important to consider when modeling residential buildings. Results show that the HEMS could achieve energy reduction ranging from 3% to 21%, cost savings ranging from 5% to 24%, and carbon emission reduction ranging from 3% to 21%, while also maintaining a low thermal discomfort level ranging from 0.78 K-hour to 6.47 K-hour in a one-week period during winter. These outcomes quantify the impact of varying occupant preferences and will be useful in controlling the electrical grid and developing HEMS solutions.

Parametric study of the impact of building envelope systems on embodied and operational carbon of residential buildings

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amneh Hamida ◽  
Abdulsalam Alsudairi ◽  
Khalid Alshaibani ◽  
Othman Alshamrani
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Block Wall ◽  
Shading Device ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Total Life

PurposeBuildings are responsible for the consumption of around 40% of energy in the world and account for one-third of greenhouses gas emissions. In Saudi Arabia, residential buildings consume half of total energy among other building sectors. This study aims to explore the impact of sixteen envelope variables on the operational and embodied carbon of a typical Saudi house with over 20 years of operation.Design/methodology/approachA simulation approach has been adopted to examine the effects of envelope variables including external wall type, roof type, glazing type, window to wall ratio (WWR) and shading device. To model the building and define the envelope materials and quantify the annual energy consumption, DesignBuilder software was used. Following modelling, operational carbon was calculated. A “cradle-to-gate” approach was adopted to assess embodied carbon during the production of materials for the envelope variables based on the Inventory of Carbon Energy database.FindingsThe results showed that operational carbon represented 90% of total life cycle carbon, whilst embodied carbon accounted for 10%. The sensitivity analysis revealed that 25% WWR contributes to a significant increase in operational carbon by 47.4%. Additionally, the efficient block wall with marble has a major embodiment of carbon greater than the base case by 10.7%.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is a contribution to the field of calculating the embodied and operational carbon emissions of a residential unit. Besides, it provides an examination of the impact of each envelope variable on both embodied and operational carbon. This study is limited by the impact of sixteen envelope variables on the embodied as well as operational carbon.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt on investigating the effects of envelop variables on carbon footprint for residential buildings in Saudi Arabia.

scholarly journals Economic and ecological sustainability of the thermal building envelope: a cross-European perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 282 ◽  
pp. 02003
Author(s):  
Tillman Gauer ◽  
Björn-Martin Kurzrock
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Climate Agreements ◽  
Insulation Thickness ◽  
Electric Heat ◽  
Reduce Emissions

The building sector is crucial to reach the goals of common climate agreements. This paper contrasts three approaches to reduce emissions from typical residential buildings in Central Europe: the instalment of electric heat pumps (eHP), a thicker insulation of the thermal envelope and the encumbrance of a carbon tax. The use of less carbon intense fuels allows major savings of GHG emissions. An insulation thickness of 30 cm leads to GHG emission savings of 8% against a thickness of just 12 cm, while total cost savings (LCC) remain negligible. The introduction of a carbon tax of up to 250 €/t-CO2-eq. does not necessarily result in a reduction of GHG emissions due to increased costs of construction. It was further found that the focus of legal building regulations on heating demand is sufficient for now but needs to be revised as carbon intensities continue to decrease. The heating then reduces its share of the GHG emissions from 85 to 55% for typical residential buildings. The paper closes with a general expression of the lifecycle costs of a building which is dependent on the factors above.

Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Life Cycle of CdTe Photovoltaics

2005 ◽  
Vol 895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasilis Fthenakis ◽  
Hyung Chul Kim
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Production Plant ◽  
Energy Payback ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Total Life

AbstractThe life cycle of the thin film CdTe PV modules in the U.S. have been investigated based on materials and energy inventories for a commercial 25 MW/yr production plant. The energy payback times (EPBT) of these modules are 0.75 years and the GHG emissions are 18 gCO2-eq/kWh for average U.S. solar irradiation conditions. Adding the impact of an optimized ground-level balance of system (BOS), result in a total EPBT of 1.2 years and total life-cycle GHG emissions of 24 gCO2-eq/kWh.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document