Abstract:Background, aim and scope A low-energy family house recently built in Northern Italy was selected by Regione Piemonte as an outstanding example of resource efficient building. An economic incentive was awarded to cover the extra costs of the thermal insulation, windows and equipment in order to decrease the yearly winter heat requirement from the legal standard of 109 to 10 kW h/m 2 , while existing buildings in the study area typically require 200 kW h/m 2 . As the building was claimed to be sustainable on th… Show more
“…44,53,96]. In some studies [96] this strategy is mainly intended as a means to support other mitigation strategies, like a wider use of low EE/EC materials, whereas in others policy has a broader reach.…”
Section: Ms5: Policy and Regulations (Governments)mentioning
Of all industrial sectors, the built environment puts the most pressure on the natural environment, and in spite of significant efforts the International Energy Agency suggests that buildings-related emissions are on track to double by 2050. Whilst operational energy efficiency continues to receive significant attention by researchers, a less well-researched area is the assessment of embodied carbon in the built environment in order to understand where the greatest opportunities for its mitigation and reduction lie. This article approaches the body of academic knowledge on strategies to tackle embodied carbon (EC) and uses a systematic review of the available evidence to answer the following research question: how should we mitigate and reduce EC in the built environment? 102 journal articles have been reviewed systematically in the fields of embodied carbon mitigation and reduction, and life cycle assessment. In total, 17 mitigation strategies have been identified from within the existing literature which have been discussed through a meta-analysis on available data. Results reveal that no single mitigation strategy alone seems able to tackle the problem; rather, a pluralistic approach is necessary. The use of materials with lower EC, better design, an increased reuse of ECintensive materials, and stronger policy drivers all emerged as key elements for a quicker transition to a low carbon built environment. The meta-analysis on 77 LCAs also shows an extremely incomplete and short-sighted approach to life cycle studies. Most studies only assess the manufacturing stages, often completely overlooking impacts occurring during the occupancy stage and at the end of life of the building. The LCA research community have the responsibility to address such shortcomings and work towards more complete and meaningful assessments.
“…44,53,96]. In some studies [96] this strategy is mainly intended as a means to support other mitigation strategies, like a wider use of low EE/EC materials, whereas in others policy has a broader reach.…”
Section: Ms5: Policy and Regulations (Governments)mentioning
Of all industrial sectors, the built environment puts the most pressure on the natural environment, and in spite of significant efforts the International Energy Agency suggests that buildings-related emissions are on track to double by 2050. Whilst operational energy efficiency continues to receive significant attention by researchers, a less well-researched area is the assessment of embodied carbon in the built environment in order to understand where the greatest opportunities for its mitigation and reduction lie. This article approaches the body of academic knowledge on strategies to tackle embodied carbon (EC) and uses a systematic review of the available evidence to answer the following research question: how should we mitigate and reduce EC in the built environment? 102 journal articles have been reviewed systematically in the fields of embodied carbon mitigation and reduction, and life cycle assessment. In total, 17 mitigation strategies have been identified from within the existing literature which have been discussed through a meta-analysis on available data. Results reveal that no single mitigation strategy alone seems able to tackle the problem; rather, a pluralistic approach is necessary. The use of materials with lower EC, better design, an increased reuse of ECintensive materials, and stronger policy drivers all emerged as key elements for a quicker transition to a low carbon built environment. The meta-analysis on 77 LCAs also shows an extremely incomplete and short-sighted approach to life cycle studies. Most studies only assess the manufacturing stages, often completely overlooking impacts occurring during the occupancy stage and at the end of life of the building. The LCA research community have the responsibility to address such shortcomings and work towards more complete and meaningful assessments.
“…Yet despite this increase, the GWP for all of the CSL's materials is only 10% higher than Junnila's US-based commercial structure, and the embodied energy remains slightly less than Junnila's US structure. Due to previous literature, it was assumed the CSL's materials would have a higher embodied energy when compared to standard buildings [2,3,25]. The next step in this research is to conduct a full LCA of the CSL, which will include the construction, use, and end-of-life phases.…”
Section: Comparison Of Net-zero Building To Standard Buildingsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Recent research has found that lower energy houses typically have proportionally higher embodied energy compared to traditional houses, and that while environmental sustainability was improved through reduction in energy use, the embodied energy of the materials, particularly those materials comprising the shell of the structure, actually increases slightly in low-energy buildings [1,[19][20][21][22]25]. Some studies have concluded that embodied energy for conventional buildings accounts for 10%-38% of the total energy in a building's life cycle [2,18,23,26].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Net-Zero Energy certification is a partial certification program that focuses on the buildings ability to fulfill net-zero requirements, likewise, petal recognition is a partial certification program that is awarded to projects that satisfy three out of the six petal categories for the LBC [7]. There are very few life cycle based studies on the environmental effects of net-zero energy buildings or Living Buildings [9,18,25,29].…”
This study analyzed the environmental impacts of the materials phase of a net-zero energy building. The Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) is a three-story, 24,350 square foot educational, research, and administrative office in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. This net-zero energy building is designed to meet Living Building Challenge criteria. The largest environmental impacts from the production of building materials is from concrete, structural steel, photovoltaic (PV) panels, inverters, and gravel. Comparing the LCA results of the CSL to standard commercial structures reveals a 10% larger global warming potential and a nearly equal embodied energy per square feet, largely due to the CSL's PV system. As a net-zero energy building, the environmental impacts associated with the use phase are expected to be very low relative to standard structures. Future studies will incorporate the construction and use phases of the CSL for a more comprehensive life cycle perspective.
“…Approximately 80% of energy use and GHG emissions are generated during the operation stage of buildings (such as heating and cooling, ventilation, lighting, and appliances), whereas only 10% to 20% are from material manufacturing, construction, and demolition [3]. Numerous studies primarily concentrated on developing advanced technologies, policies, and measures to cut down GHG emissions in the operation stage [4][5][6][7] rather than in the construction stage. Guggemos et al [8] pointed out that the environmental impact and GHG emissions from the construction phase cannot be ignored, even if this phase only accounts for 0.4% to 12% of the overwhelming impact from the operation stage.…”
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the construction stage will be more relatively significant over time.Different construction methods influence GHG emissions in the construction phase. This study investigates the differences of GHG emissions between prefabrication and conventional construction methods. This study sets a calculation boundary and five emission sources for the semi-prefabricated construction process: embodied emissions of building materials, transportation of building materials, transportation of construction waste and soil, transportation of prefabricated components, operation of equipment, and construction techniques. A quantitative model is then established using a process-based method. A semi-prefabrication project and a conventional construction project in China are employed for preliminary examination of the differences in GHG emissions. Results show that the semi-prefabrication method produces less GHG emissions per square meter compared with the conventional construction, with the former producing 336 kg/m 2 and the latter generating 368 kg/m 2 . The largest proportion of total GHG emissions comes from the embodied emissions of building materials, accounting for approximately 85%. Four elements that positively contribute to reduced emissions are the embodied GHG emissions of building materials, transportation of building materials, resource consumption of equipment and techniques, and transportation of waste and soil, accounting for 86.5%, 18.3%, 10.3%, and 0.2%, respectively, of reduced emissions; one a negative effect on reduced emissions is the transportation of prefabricated components, which offsets 15.3% of the total emissions reduction. Thus, adopting prefabricated construction methods contribute to significant environmental benefits on GHG emissions in this initial study.
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