scholarly journals Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon in Different Industrialized Structural Systems Scenarios of a Prototype Building

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (47) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizeth Rodríguez Rodríguez ◽  
José M. González Barroso ◽  
Oriol París Viviana ◽  
Adrián Muros Alcojor
Keyword(s):  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Structural Systems ◽  
Embodied Carbon

scholarly journals A Building Life-Cycle Embodied Performance Index—The Relationship between Embodied Energy, Embodied Carbon and Environmental Impact

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Hu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Building Performance ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Unexplored Area ◽  
Environmental Impact Categories ◽  
Building Life Cycle

Knowledge and research tying the environmental impact and embodied energy together is a largely unexplored area in the building industry. The aim of this study is to investigate the practicality of using the ratio between embodied energy and embodied carbon to measure the building’s impact. This study is based on life-cycle assessment and proposes a new measure: life-cycle embodied performance (LCEP), in order to evaluate building performance. In this project, eight buildings located in the same climate zone with similar construction types are studied to test the proposed method. For each case, the embodied energy intensities and embodied carbon coefficients are calculated, and four environmental impact categories are quantified. The following observations can be drawn from the findings: (a) the ozone depletion potential could be used as an indicator to predict the value of LCEP; (b) the use of embodied energy and embodied carbon independently from each other could lead to incomplete assessments; and (c) the exterior wall system is a common significant factor influencing embodied energy and embodied carbon. The results lead to several conclusions: firstly, the proposed LCEP ratio, between embodied energy and embodied carbon, can serve as a genuine indicator of embodied performance. Secondly, environmental impact categories are not dependent on embodied energy, nor embodied carbon. Rather, they are proportional to LCEP. Lastly, among the different building materials studied, metal and concrete express the highest contribution towards embodied energy and embodied carbon.

scholarly journals Hybrid Input-Output Analysis of Embodied Carbon and Construction Cost Differences between New-Build and Refurbished Projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Langston ◽  
Edwin Chan ◽  
Esther Yung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Construction Cost ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Output Analysis ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Cost Differences ◽  
Cost Differentials ◽  
Strong Linear Relationship

Refurbishing buildings helps reduce waste, and limiting the amount of embodied carbon in buildings helps minimize the damaging impacts of climate change through lower CO2 emissions. The analysis of embodied carbon is based on the concept of life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a systematic tool to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product, technology, or service through all stages of its life cycle. This study investigates the embodied carbon footprint of both new-build and refurbished buildings to determine the embodied carbon profile and its relationship to both embodied energy and construction cost. It recognizes that changes in the fuel mix for electricity generation play an important role in embodied carbon impacts in different countries. The empirical findings for Hong Kong suggest that mean embodied carbon for refurbished buildings is 33–39% lower than new-build projects, and the cost for refurbished buildings is 22–50% lower than new-build projects (per square meter of floor area). Embodied carbon ranges from 645–1059 kgCO2e/m2 for new-build and 294–655 kgCO2e/m2 for refurbished projects, which is in keeping with other studies outside Hong Kong. However, values of embodied carbon and cost for refurbished projects in this study have a higher coefficient of variation than their new-build counterparts. It is argued that it is preferable to estimate embodied energy and then convert to embodied carbon (rather than estimate embodied carbon directly), as carbon is both time and location specific. A very strong linear relationship is also observed between embodied energy and construction cost that can be used to predict the former, given the latter. This study provides a framework whereby comparisons can be made between new-build and refurbished projects on the basis of embodied carbon and related construction cost differentials into the future, helping to make informed decisions about which strategy to pursue.

scholarly journals Design Strategies for Low Embodied Carbon and Low Embodied Energy Buildings: Principles and Examples

2015 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonín Lupíšek ◽  
Marie Vaculíková ◽  
Štĺpán ManĽík ◽  
Julie Hodková ◽  
Jan RůžiĽka
Keyword(s):  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Embodied Carbon

An Analysis of the Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon of Refugee Shelters Worldwide

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aude Matard ◽  
Noorullah Kuchai ◽  
Stephen Allen ◽  
Paul Shepherd ◽  
Kemi Adeyeye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Embodied Carbon

scholarly journals Comparing construction technologies of single family housing with regard of minimizing embodied energy and embodied carbon

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 00126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Węglarz ◽  
Michał Pierzchalski
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Mineral Wool ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Wooden Frame ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Method Of Evaluation

This article concerns the Life Cycle Assessment method of evaluation and the ways in which it can be applied as a tool facilitating the design of buildings to reduce embodied energy and embodied carbon. Three variants of a building were examined with the same functional ground plan and usable floor area of 142.6 m2. Each variant of the building was designed using different construction technologies: bricklaying technology utilizing autoclaved aerated concrete popular in Poland, wooden frame insulated with mineral wool, and the Straw-bale technology. Using digital models (Building Information Model) the building’s energy characteristics was simulated and the embodied energy and embodied carbon of the production stage (also called cradle-to-gate) were calculated. The performed calculations were used to compare the cumulative energy and embodied carbon of each variant for a 40 year long life cycle.

scholarly journals Calculation and Decomposition Analysis of Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon Emissions in China’s Foreign Trade Based on Value-Added Trade

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-529
Author(s):  
Zhong Han ◽  
Wenkai Wu ◽  
Yan Sun ◽  
Yun Shi ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Foreign Trade ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
The World ◽  
Embodied Carbon Emissions

Under the new mode of labor division for global production, the method of calculating a country’s energy consumption and carbon emissions is based on a “production side” principle that disregards the embodied energy and carbon emissions caused by international trade. This method is unfair to China and other large, exporting countries. From the perspective of value-added trade, the multiregional input–output model based on the world input–output table and environmental account from the World Input–Output Database are used to measure the scale of China’s value-added trade; subsequently, the import and export net values of China’s foreigntraderelated embodied energy and carbon emissions are calculated. The results show that: (1) China’s value-added exports in 2009 amounted to US $1,045.37 billion, which constitutes 21% of China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in that year. Nearly half of the value-added exports are to fulfill the final demand from North America and European Union countries; manufacturing and service are the main value-added export industries of China. (2) China has a relatively high unit coefficient for value-added energy consumption and carbon emissions, both representing a net export of embodied energy and embodied carbon emissions in foreign trade. In this regard, energy and mid-level technology manufacturing industries, such as coke, refined oil, and nuclear fuel processing, are the main exporters of embodied energy and embodied carbon.

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