Life cycle energy consumption and CO2 emission of an office building in China

Wu, Huijun; Yuan, Zengwei; Zhang, Ling; Bi, Jun

doi:10.1007/s11367-011-0342-2

Cited by 156 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…In particular, there have been studies targeted to analyze energy consumption patterns by building type in the operation phase [4], to design an energy-saving building and to develop an energy-saving solution through the analysis of diverse cases in foreign countries [5]. In terms of the characteristics of a building's operation phase, it accounted for up to 85% of total carbon emissions by building type due to the use of heating and cooling energy and electrical facilities [6,7].…”

Section: Previous Studies Regarding Environmental Impact Assessment Omentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study on Life Cycle CO2 Emissions of Low-Carbon Building in South Korea

Cho

Chae

2016

Sustainability

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There have been much interest and many efforts to control global warming and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the world. Recently, the Republic of Korea has also increased its GHG reduction goal and searched for an implementation plan. In buildings, for example, there have been technology developments and deployment policies to reduce GHG emissions from a life cycle perspective, covering construction materials, building construction, use of buildings and waste disposal. In particular, Korea's Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design is a certification of environmentally-friendly buildings for their energy saving and reduction of environmental pollution throughout their lives. In fact, the demand and adoption of the certification are rising every year. In construction materials and buildings, as a result, an environmentally-friendly aspect has become crucial. The importance of construction material and building development technologies that can reduce environmental load by diminishing GHG emissions in buildings has emerged. Moreover, there has been a rising necessity to verify the GHG reduction effects of buildings. To assess the reduction of carbon emissions in the buildings built with low-carbon construction technologies and materials, therefore, this study estimated life cycle carbon emissions in reference buildings in which general construction materials are used and in low-carbon buildings. For this, the carbon emissions and their reduction from construction materials (especially concrete) between conventional products and low-carbon materials were estimated, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). After estimating carbon emissions from a building life cycle perspective, their reduction in low-carbon buildings compared to the reference buildings was reviewed. The results found that compared to conventional buildings, low-carbon buildings revealed a 25% decrease in carbon emissions in terms of the reduction of Life Cycle CO 2 (LCCO 2 ) per unit area. If diverse production technologies and sales routes are further developed for low-carbon construction materials, carbon emission reduction effects would considerably increase.

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Section: Previous Studies Regarding Environmental Impact Assessment Omentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study on Life Cycle CO2 Emissions of Low-Carbon Building in South Korea

Cho

Chae

2016

Sustainability

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“…The problem is not just the lack in knowledge of the electricity consumption, but also how electricity information in used in LCA models. In most of the LCA studies in China, the average electricity from the national grids or the electricity generated from coal is employed to analyze the environmental impacts [14,16]. It is a very inaccurate and arbitrary conclusion that China's power and the energy consumption will be based on coal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, this paper aims to capture the electricity sources in the seven regions of China and provide a picture of consequences arising from increasing or decreasing electricity demands in these regions. Energy consumption, especially electricity, is often identified as a hotspot for the outcomes of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of different products, industrial activities, or services both inside and outside of China [12][13][14][15][16]. The electricity consumption is so important that many studies have conducted an LCA to address the CO 2 emissions from electricity production itself [17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marginal Generation Technology in the Chinese Power Market towards 2030 Based on Consequential Life Cycle Assessment

2016

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Electricity consumption is often the hotspot of life cycle assessment (LCA) of products, industrial activities, or services. The objective of this paper is to provide a consistent, scientific, region-specific electricity-supply-based inventory of electricity generation technology for national and regional power grids. Marginal electricity generation technology is pivotal in assessing impacts related to additional consumption of electricity. China covers a large geographical area with regional supply grids; these are arguably equally or less integrated. Meanwhile, it is also a country with internal imbalances in regional energy supply and demand. Therefore, we suggest an approach to achieve a geographical subdivision of the Chinese electricity grid, corresponding to the interprovincial

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“…Most current scenarios for limiting climate change to a tolerable degree see improvements in the building sector as one of the key issues necessary for success (Wu et al 2012). …”

Section: Relevance Of the Building Sector For Global Sustainability Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional Pareto optimization as an approach for site-specific building refurbishment solutions applicable for life cycle sustainability assessment

Ostermeyer

Wallbaum

Reuter³

2013

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose This paper addresses the application and potential of LCSA in the built environment with a focus on refurbishments of residential buildings. It specifically addresses the phenomenon of interchange of building technologies efficiencies under different life time assessments from economy, ecology and social fields. An approach of optimization rather than hard target numbers is proposed as win-win-win situations are unlikely. Methods A multidimensional Pareto optimization methodology, using LCC, LCA combined with first stages of a social assessment in a feasibility study but potentially later full SLCA, is proposed, which site-specifically visualizes the interchange between different options in building design or modification, and evaluates optimal overall concepts. LCA and LCC are used to analyze a case study from an EU project named BEEM-UP in which solutions for largescale uptake of refurbishment strategies are developed. Social frame conditions are taken into account by identifying the driving technologies and feeding the consequences of their implementation for the residents into the tenant involvement part of the project. Results and discussion The calculations prove that the general assumptions leading to the methodology hold true at least for this case study. A clear Pareto-optimal curve is visible when assessing LCC and LCA. The example buildings results show certain systems to be dominating clusters on the figures while others clearly can be identified as not relevant. Several of the driving technologies however fail to be applicable because of social frame conditions, e.g., clear requests by the tenants. Based on the conclusions, the potential for including SLCA as a third dimension in the methodology and possible visualization options are discussed. Conclusions The development in the field of social indicators in the building sector has to be strengthened in order to come up with a holistic picture and respectively with appropriate responses to current challenges. While some solutions identified in the LCC/LCA assessment also have good social characteristics, several others have not and solutions identified as lacking might have social advantages that are currently left out of consideration The upcoming Standards EN 15643-5 and ISO 15686-x are a promising step in this direction as is the work to create a conceptual framework for impact assessment within SLCA by the scientific community.

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Life cycle energy consumption and CO2 emission of an office building in China

Cited by 156 publications

References 46 publications

A Study on Life Cycle CO2 Emissions of Low-Carbon Building in South Korea

A Study on Life Cycle CO2 Emissions of Low-Carbon Building in South Korea

Marginal Generation Technology in the Chinese Power Market towards 2030 Based on Consequential Life Cycle Assessment

Multidimensional Pareto optimization as an approach for site-specific building refurbishment solutions applicable for life cycle sustainability assessment

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