Embodied energy in residential buildings-towards the nearly zero energy building: A literature review

Chastas, Panagiotis; Theodosiou, Theodoros; Bikas, Dimitrios

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.05.040

Cited by 317 publications

(144 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…A heat recovery ventilation system, extra window panes, a ground-source heat pump, and insulation all increase building energy efficiency, but also influence the materials footprint of a building (table 1). Chastas [112] harmonized 90 building case studies and found that the embodied emissions increase with the energy efficiency of a building while the total life cycle emissions decrease, echoing earlier findings [113,114]. Koezjakov et al [115] performed a prospective assessment of the Dutch residential building stock .…”

Section: Trade-offs Between Materials and Energy Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 74%

Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review

Hertwich

Ali

Ciacci

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

281

164

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As one quarter of global energy use serves the production of materials, the more efficient use of these materials presents a significant opportunity for the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the renewed interest of policy makers in the circular economy, material efficiency (ME) strategies such as light-weighting and downsizing of and lifetime extension for products, reuse and recycling of materials, and appropriate material choice are being promoted. Yet, the emissions savings from ME remain poorly understood, owing in part to the multitude of material uses and diversity of circumstances and in part to a lack of analytical effort. We have reviewed emissions reductions from ME strategies applied to buildings, cars, and electronics. We find that there can be a systematic trade-off between material use in the production of buildings, vehicles, and appliances and energy use in their operation, requiring a careful life cycle assessment of ME strategies. We find that the largest potential emission reductions quantified in the literature result from more intensive use of and lifetime extension for buildings and the light-weighting and reduced size of vehicles. Replacing metals and concrete with timber in construction can result in significant GHG benefits, but trade-offs and limitations to the potential supply of timber need to be recognized. Repair and remanufacturing of products can also result in emission reductions, which have been quantified only on a case-by-case basis and are difficult to generalize. The recovery of steel, aluminum, and copper from building demolition waste and the end-of-life vehicles and appliances already results in the recycling of base metals, which achieves significant emission reductions. Higher collection rates, sorting efficiencies, and the alloy-specific sorting of metals to preserve the function of alloying elements while avoiding the contamination of base metals are important steps to further reduce emissions.

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Section: Trade-offs Between Materials and Energy Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 74%

Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review

Hertwich

Ali

Ciacci

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

281

164

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Thus, the main focuses of the European Performance Building Directive (EPBD) 2010/31/EU [4], and the Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) [5] were to concentrate efforts towards better insulation, more efficient HVAC systems, and more use of sustainable energy. In the review of Chastas et al [6], the embodied energy in residential buildings, including traditional, passive, and nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB), depicted how GWP cannot be used as an indicator for the majority of the environmental impact categories in the context of the embodied emissions in the building and construction sector.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Impact Assessment of a School Building in Iceland Using LCA-Including the Effect of Long Distance Transport of Materials

2016

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Abstract:Buildings are the key components of urban areas and society as a complex system. A life cycle assessment was applied to estimate the environmental impacts of the resources applied in the building envelope, floor slabs, and interior walls of the Vaettaskóli-Engi building in Reykjavik, Iceland. The scope of this study included four modules of extraction and transportation of raw material to the manufacturing site, production of the construction materials, and transport to the building site, as described in the standard EN 15804. The total environmental effects of the school building in terms of global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, human toxicity, acidification, and eutrophication were calculated. The total global warming potential impact was equal to 255 kg of CO 2 eq/sqm, which was low compared to previous studies and was due to the limited system boundary of the current study. The effect of long-distance overseas transport of materials was noticeable in terms of acidification (25%) and eutrophication (31%) while it was negligible in other impact groups. The results also concluded that producing the cement in Iceland caused less environmental impact in all five impact categories compared to the case in which the cement was imported from Germany. The major contribution of this work is that the environmental impacts of different plans for domestic production or import of construction materials to Iceland can be precisely assessed in order to identify effective measures to move towards a sustainable built environment in Iceland, and also to provide consistent insights for stakeholders.

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“…A respective increase in the embodied energy and for the life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) perspective follows that reduction. The final share of the embodied energy in the total life cycle energy of residential buildings ranges between 74% and 100% when the zero energy target is achieved [7]. The extended use of materials and technical installations [8] identifies the increased initial, recurring [9] and "overlooked" [10] embodied energy and leads to proposals for accounting embodied energy in the life cycle (LC-ZEB) and rating (LC-BER) of nearly zero energy buildings [11] or even for the consideration of the environmental impact on monetary values and also of the environmental savings for the sustainability assessment of retrofitting measures for residential buildings [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This reinforcement of the regulations for the energy efficiency of buildings focuses on the energy and the emissions related to the operating phase of the building's life cycle. Literature reviews which concern conventional, low energy, passive and nearly zero energy buildings [4][5][6][7], indicate a reduction of the operating energy. A respective increase in the embodied energy and for the life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) perspective follows that reduction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Embodied Impact on the Cost-Optimal Levels of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings: A Case Study of a Residential Building in Thessaloniki, Greece

et al. 2017

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Considering the nearly zero energy building (nZEB) and the increased measures for the improvement of the energy efficiency, the international literature indicates an extended use of specialized materials and technical installations. An increase in the embodied energy follows that use, with a final share between 74% and 100% in the total life cycle energy of residential nZEBs. The current energy efficiency legislation considers only the impact from the operational phase and ignores the embodied impact from the remaining life cycle phases of the building. Nevertheless, the delegated regulation 244 of 2012 acknowledges the incompleteness of this assessment and provides an optional consideration of the embodied ("grey") energy. The current study applies this option through the macroeconomic global cost calculations and the cost-optimal levels of nZEBs. The results indicate a limited effect of the embodied impact on the cost-optimal levels and in specific on extended calculation periods and in combination with other key parameters of the sensitivity analysis. An increase in the primary energy and a transposition to variants with lower use of materials and decreased embodied emissions follow this effect. Sensitivity analysis confirms the calculation period as a key parameter and indicates the need for further research.

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Embodied energy in residential buildings-towards the nearly zero energy building: A literature review

Cited by 317 publications

References 58 publications

Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review

Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review

Environmental Impact Assessment of a School Building in Iceland Using LCA-Including the Effect of Long Distance Transport of Materials

The Effect of Embodied Impact on the Cost-Optimal Levels of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings: A Case Study of a Residential Building in Thessaloniki, Greece

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