Environmental Impacts over the Life Cycle of Residential Buildings Using Different Exterior Wall Systems

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramzy Kahhat ◽  
John Crittenden ◽  
Fariya Sharif ◽  
Ernesto Fonseca ◽  
Ke Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Exterior Wall

scholarly journals Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Steel and Concrete Construction Frames: A Case Study of Two Residential Buildings in Iran

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Amir Oladazimi ◽  
Saeed Mansour ◽  
Seyed Abbas Hosseinijou
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Steel Frame ◽  
Complete Analysis ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Concrete Frame

Given the fact that during the recent years the majority of buildings in Iran have been constructed either on steel or concrete frames, it is essential to investigate the environmental impacts of materials used in such constructions. For this purpose, two multi-story residential buildings in Tehran with a similar function have been considered in this study. One building was constructed with a steel frame and the other was constructed with a concrete frame. Using the life cycle assessment tool, a complete analysis of all the stages of a building’s life cycle from raw material acquisition to demolition and recycling of wastes was carried out. In this research, the environmental impacts included global warming potential in 100 years, acidification, eutrophication potential, human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects), resource depletion (water and mineral), climate change, fossil fuel consumption, air acidification and biotoxicity. It could be concluded from the results that the total pollution of the concrete frame in all eleven aforementioned impact factors was almost 219,000 tonnes higher than that of the steel frame. Moreover, based on the results, the concrete frame had poorer performance in all but one impact factor. With respect to global warming potential, the findings indicated there were two types of organic and non-organic gases that had an impact on global warming. Among non-organic emissions, CO2 had the biggest contribution to global warming potential, while among organic emissions, methane was the top contributor. These findings suggest the use of steel frames in the building industry in Iran to prevent further environmental damage; however, in the future, more research studies in this area are needed to completely investigate all aspects of decision on the choice of building frames, including economic and social aspects.

scholarly journals An Integrated Assessment of the Sustainability of Green and Built-up Roofs

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Muga ◽  
Amlan Mukherjee ◽  
James Mihelcic
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Green Roof ◽  
Life Cycle Costing ◽  
Green Technology ◽  
Material Extraction

There is growing demand to develop methods that integrate environmental and economic assessment of more sustainable technologies incorporated into commercial and residential buildings. In this paper, we incorporate economic and energy use data obtained for a green roof operating in the Midwest U.S. at latitude 42.94N into an integrated approach to estimate and compare the economic and environmental impacts of an intensive (or extensive) green roof with a built-up roof. The life cycle stages included in the analysis were material acquisition life stage which including the transportation effects from material extraction through manufacturing to the finished products, and the use and maintenance life stage of the building. Environmental impact analysis indicates that green roof emits three times more environmental pollutants than built-up roofs in the material acquisition life stage. However, in the use and maintenance life stage, built-up roof emits three times more pollutants than a green roof. Overall, when emissions from both material acquisition life stage and use and maintenance life stage are combined, the built-up roof contributes almost 3 times more (or 46% more) environmental emissions than green roof over a 45-year building life span. Furthermore the overall energy use, specifically energy involved in the transportation from material extraction through to the finished product indicate that green roof uses 2.5 times less energy than a built-up roof. An Economic Input and Output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) was used to estimate the environmental impacts. The economic impact over an assumed 45-year building life was determined using life cycle costing, taking into account Net Present Value (NPV) calculations. Life cycle costing results indicate that green roof costs approximately 50% less to maintain over a 45 year-building life than a built-up roof. A Monte Carlo simulation is also performed to account for any variability in cost data. In addition, the paper presents a method to quantify the value incentive that a decision-maker has in adopting green technology. Results from the study indicate that when a green roof is compared to the Midwest regional NPV of a built-up roof, we find that the cost to maintain it ($35 per square foot) lies well below the average regional NPV of $59 per square foot of a built-up roof.

scholarly journals Holistic assessment of solid wastes and their environmental impacts in Osogbo city, Southwestern Nigeria with the application of GaBi6 modeling tool

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (Issue 1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S.O Ojoawo ◽  
A.A Amoo ◽  
O.M Adisa
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
The United States ◽  
Solid Wastes ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
The Impact

Environmental impacts and attendant nuisance of solid wastes escalate in the 21st Century. Effective management of the wastes in a holistic manner is a proven way out of the menace. This research focuses on accessing the life cycle of solid wastes in Osogbo. The main objective is to evaluate the physical and chemical constituents of the wastes and determine their best disposal method in the study area. In the study, wastes were collected over a period of 2 weeks, wastes composition was determined for the randomly selected residential buildings, and the per capital waste generation rate was evaluated for the area. Potable gas detectors were used to detect and measure the gases present at this dumpsite. The emission of gases and energy consumption was evaluated using the methodology of life cycle in calculating life cycle inventory of the waste strategies. The measured gases include; Sulphur (IV) oxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon (iv) oxide (CO2), ammonia (NH4). The Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Methodology of the Centre for Environmental Studies (CML) of the University of Leiden are the two approaches applied as provided for in the GaBi6 (Holistic Balancing) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software database, to classify and characterize environmental impacts of municipal wastes in Osogbo. The Impact Indices measured from both scenarios were: Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP) and Ozone Layer Depletion Potential (ODP). For the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), two waste management scenarios were developed and compared using GaBi6 software. Scenario one involves collection, transportation and incineration, while Scenario 2 ends with landfilling. Findings showed that the overall mean percent (%) wastes composition for paper, biodegradable, plastic, glass, metal, wood and textile were respectively found to be 4.32, 67.53, 5.07, 4.90, 6.54, 8.74 and 2.90. The per capita waste generation in the study area was found to be 1.09 kg/capita/day. From the results of LCIA methods studied using the ODP index, Scenario one with the TRACI method gives the total values for GWP, AP, EP, ODP as 4.18, 1.08, 1.392E-4, 3.147E-8 respectively. With the CML method, the values are 4.18, 1.3E-3, 3.771E-4, 2.878E-8 respectively. The respective results from scenario two with the TRACI method and CML methods showed total values for GWP, AP, EP, ODP as 9.64, 0.112, 3.108E-3, 1.447E-11 and 9.64, 1.77E-3, 7.247E-3, 1.361E-11. It is concluded that of the two management scenarios considered, landfilling of wastes is more environmentally friendly as compared to incineration, and is therefore recommended for use in the study area.

scholarly journals Integrated Life Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Analysis of Exterior Wall Systems for Residential Buildings

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 8592-8603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Broun ◽  
Hamed Babaizadeh ◽  
Abolfazl Zakersalehi ◽  
Gillian Menzies
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Gas Analysis ◽  
Exterior Wall

scholarly journals Water Consumption and Environmental Impact of Multifamily Residential Buildings: A Life Cycle Assessment Study

Buildings ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Mehzabeen Mannan ◽  
Sami G. Al-Ghamdi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Climate Zone

Water use in buildings accounts for a large share in global freshwater consumption where research on the impacts of life cycle water use receive little or no attention. Moreover, there is very limited knowledge regarding such impacts that focus on the life cycle emissions from water consumption in building environments in the world’s most water-stressed countries. Hence, this study attempted to quantify the environmental impacts of operational water use in a multi-family residential building through a life cycle assessment (LCA). A small part of a Middle Eastern country, Doha (Qatar), has been selected for the primary assessment, while water-use impact in Miami (Florida) was chosen as a second case study, as both locations fall into similar climate zone according to ASHRAE Climate Zone Map. The LCA score indicated much higher impacts in the Doha case study compared to Miami. The variation in the result is mainly attributed to the raw water treatment stage in Doha, which involves energy-intensive thermal desalination. Again, relative comparison of the annual water and electricity use impacts for the modeled building was performed at the final stage for both locations. Water use was attributable for 18% of the environmental impacts in Miami, while this value increased to 35% in Doha. This initial assembled LCA result will be beneficial to both water authorities and building research communities in establishing more sustainable water use policies for specific regions/countries that will ultimately benefit the overall building environment.

scholarly journals Integrated economic and environmental building classification and optimal seismic vulnerability/energy efficiency retrofitting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Caruso ◽  
Rui Pinho ◽  
Federica Bianchi ◽  
Francesco Cavalieri ◽  
Maria Teresa Lemmo
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Seismic Vulnerability ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Operational Energy

AbstractA life cycle framework for a new integrated classification system for buildings and the identification of renovation strategies that lead to an optimal balance between reduction of seismic vulnerability and increase of energy efficiency, considering both economic losses and environmental impacts, is discussed through a parametric application to an exemplificative case-study building. Such framework accounts for the economic and environmental contributions of initial construction, operational energy consumption, earthquake-induced damage repair activities, retrofitting interventions, and demolition. One-off and annual monetary expenses and environmental impacts through the building life cycle are suggested as meaningful performance metrics to develop an integrated classification system for buildings and to identify the optimal renovation strategy leading to a combined reduction of economic and environmental impacts, depending on the climatic conditions and the seismic hazard at the site of interest. The illustrative application of the framework to an existing school building is then carried out, investigating alternative retrofitting solutions, including either sole structural retrofitting options or sole energy refurbishments, as well as integrated strategies that target both objectives, with a view to demonstrate its practicality and to explore its ensuing results. The influence of seismic hazard and climatic conditions is quantitatively investigated, by assuming the building to be located into different geographic locations.

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.

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