Comparing Embodied GHG Emissions between Environmental Product Declaration and Generic Data Models: Case of the ZEB Laboratory in Trondheim, Norway

The article aims to document and compare the embodied GHG emissions from the construction of the ZEB Laboratory in Trondheim, Norway. The process is of key importance because embodied emissions in Norway constitute the largest part of emissions from the construction sector. Moreover, the recent obligations in building regulations call for early accounting and active reduction of the carbon footprint during the design and execution processes. The emissions are estimated and compared between two models: firstly, using most data from the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and then, applying only generic data from the ecoinvent database. The main difference derives from the installation of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), which cover a significant area and show a considerable difference in values. Elsewhere, the general ratio between the generic and EPD products is around 15%. The tendency affects main building materials, such as wood, metal and concrete, while layered products e.g., insulation or covering, show higher emissions in the EPDs. The assessment and improvement from the early design led to a pioneering building with low embodied emissions compared to other ZEB projects. The generic estimations are obtained quickly and can serve as the starting point to predict and reduce the carbon footprint from the conceptual stage. When a generic database of typical building materials and products is created, it can be used for other projects, shortening the calculation time. The accounting and comparison will be complete when all construction stages specified in the regulations and the building's ambition level are included in the calculations.publishedVersio

Life Cycle Assessment of an Ambitious Renovation of a Norwegian Apartment Building to nZEB Standard

Author's accepted manuscript.The upgrading of building infrastructure to modern standards represents a key tool for reducing global energy demand and emissions from buildings. In Norway, building upgrades have been prioritized despite the relatively low carbon intensity of the Norwegian energy mix through various incentive programs and continual improvement in building standards. Prioritizing upgrades is important as up to 90% of the existing Norwegian building stock is expected to remain standing by the year 2050. The overall impact of upgrading buildings is expected to be a net benefit to the environment but this is primarily in operation, and many studies on energy do not include the materials and resources required for upgrading. The ambitious building upgrade in the Stjernehus apartment block in Kristiansand, Norway represented an opportunity to analyse the emissions and cumulative energy demand of renovation strategies in a real-world case study. The Stjernehus apartment block, once declared the coldest apartment block in Norway, was renovated from 1960s standards to nearly passive house standard, leading to considerable improvements in operational energy demand. The renovation was evaluated in this study with respect to energy demand and overall lifetime environmental emissions using life cycle analysis over a 30-year period, and with three different scenarios for the energy supply. The results of this study show that despite the low carbon intensity of the Norwegian energy mix, there was a considerable environmental benefit to renovation. It is recommended that renovation of existing buildings continue as part of a successful climate mitigation strategy in Norway.acceptedVersio

Increased fitness of a key appendicularian zooplankton species under warmer, acidified seawater conditions

Ocean warming and acidification (OA) may alter the fitness of species in marine pelagic ecosystems through community effects or direct physiological impacts. We used the zooplanktonic appendicularian, Oikopleura dioica, to assess temperature and pH effects at mesocosm and microcosm scales. In mesocosms, both OA and warming positively impacted O. dioica abundance over successive generations. In microcosms, the positive impact of OA, was observed to result from increased fecundity. In contrast, increased pH, observed for example during phytoplankton blooms, reduced fecundity. Oocyte fertility and juvenile development were equivalent under all pH conditions, indicating that the positive effect of lower pH on O. dioica abundance was principally due to increased egg number. This effect was influenced by food quantity and quality, supporting possible improved digestion and assimilation at lowered pH. Higher temperature resulted in more rapid growth, faster maturation and earlier reproduction. Thus, increased temperature and reduced pH had significant positive impacts on O. dioica fitness through increased fecundity and shortened generation time, suggesting that predicted future ocean conditions may favour this zooplankton species. © 2018 Bouquet et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Rehabilitering av borettslag til nesten nullenerginivå. En mulighetsstudie for Boligbyggelaget TOBB

Målet for prosjektet har vært å identifisere TOBB borettslag som har potensial for å bli oppgradert til nesten nullenergibygg (nZEB-nivå) og beregne og beskrive løsninger for å komme dit. Kartlegging av TOBB borettslag som har potensial for å bli oppgradert til nZEB-nivå i perioden 2017 til 2030 er gjennomført. Vestlia borettslag, et boligområde i Trondheim bygget på 70-tallet, er valgt som case for beregningene. Bygningstekniske løsninger og installasjoner er beskrevet for to oppgraderingsnivå, et enkelt nivå og et ambisiøst nivå som er kalt nZEB-nivå. Beregninger er foretatt for enkel oppgradering og nZEB-oppgradering både for energibruk og for klimafotspor. Energinivå for nZEB er ikke definert i Norge, hverken for nye bygg eller for oppgradering av eksisterende bygg. For å oppnå nZEB er det en forutsetning at energibehovet må være så lavt som mulig og det resterende energibehovet må i størst mulig grad dekkes med fornybar energi som produseres på bygget. Denne mulighetsstudien omhandler ikke energiproduksjon. De valgte løsningene for rehabilitering av Vestlia er vurdert i forhold til lønnsomhet for klimafotsporet i et livsløpsperspektiv. Resultater viser at det er mulig å gjennomføre en nZEB-oppgradering med et positivt klimaregnskap, altså at energibesparelsen gir en større klimagevinst enn klimafotsporet av oppgraderingen. Resultatene viser også at det er behov for videreutvikling av kostnadseffektive tekniske løsninger for rehabilitering, som også er erfaringen fra FME-senteret ZEB (Andresen 2017). Resultatene viser også et stort behov for nye beslutningsverktøy for at borettslag skal kunne ta beslutninger om energioppgradering i tråd med det grønne skiftet.publishedVersio

Metabarcoding and metabolome analyses of copepod grazing reveal feeding preference and linkage to metabolite classes in dynamic microbial plankton communities

In order to characterize copepod feeding in relation to microbial plankton community dynamics, we combined metabarcoding and metabolome analyses during a 22-day seawater mesocosm experiment. Nutrient amendment of mesocosms promoted the development of haptophyte (Phaeocystis pouchetii)- and diatom (Skeletonema marinoi)-dominated plankton communities in mesocosms, in which Calanus sp. copepods were incubated for 24 h in flow-through chambers to allow access to prey particles (<500 μm). Copepods and mesocosm water sampled six times spanning the experiment were analysed using metabarcoding, while intracellular metabolite profiles of mesocosm plankton communities were generated for all experimental days. Taxon-specific metabarcoding ratios (ratio of consumed prey to available prey in the surrounding seawater) revealed diverse and dynamic copepod feeding selection, with positive selection on large diatoms, heterotrophic nanoflagellates and fungi, while smaller phytoplankton, including P. pouchetii, were passively consumed or even negatively selected according to our indicator. Our analysis of the relationship between Calanus grazing ratios and intracellular metabolite profiles indicates the importance of carbohydrates and lipids in plankton succession and copepod–prey interactions. This molecular characterization of Calanus sp. grazing therefore provides new evidence for selective feeding in mixed plankton assemblages and corroborates previous findings that copepod grazing may be coupled to the developmental and metabolic stage of the entire prey community rather than to individual prey abundances

Økoeffektiv elektrisitetsproduksjon : Vindkraft i et livsløpsperspektiv

Utgangspunktet for denne oppgaven har vært å kvantifisere miljøbelastningen forbundet med vindkraft og sammenligne denne med vannkraft og gasskraft. Det skal også undersøkes i hvor stor grad vindkraft kan dekke en forventet økning i elektrisitetsforbruket. Undersøkelsen er gjort i et livsløpsperspektiv. Første del av oppgaven er en gjennomgang av teoretisk bakgrunnsmateriale for livsløpsanalyse av energisystem. Deretter følger en kort analyse av produksjon og forbruk av elektrisitet i årene fram mot 2020. Resultatet av analysen tiliser et avvik mellom produksjon og forbruk på 24 TWh/år innen 2020. I andre del av oppgaven er det foretatt en litteraturstudie av vindkraft og av tidligere livsløpsanalyser av energisystem. Tekniske og økonomiske aspekter ved vindkraft beskrives i detalj, og det er frembrakt formler på vindturbiners skaleringsforhold. Tredje del av oppgaven består av en livsløpsanalyse av vindkraft. Funksjonell enhet er definert til 1 kWh produsert elektrisitet. Det er tatt utgangspunkt i en 150 MW danskprodusert vindpark. Inkludert i analysen er turbin, fundament, overføringsnett i vindparken, samt infrastruktur. Resultatene viser at de største utslippene av CO2, SO2 og NOx oppstår i vindturbinens produksjonsfase. En sensitivitetsanalyse bekrefter resultatet, og indikerer at også anleggsarbeidet står for en viktig del av utslippene. Variasjoner i vindparkstørrelse er også undersøkt. Modellering av tre vindparker, 40 MW – 150 MW – 500 MW, viser at 500 MW vindparken har et utslipp som er 2 % lavere per kWh enn for en 150 MW vindpark. 40 MW vindparken har tilsvarende høyere utslipp. For å kunne produsere 24 TWh/år i 2020, er det nødvendig å konstruere 54 stykker 150 MW vindparker. For stål vil dette tilsvare 64,1 % av det årlige norske forbruket. Konklusjonen er at det er mulig å produsere 24 TWh/år fra vindkraft i 2020, men at det krever betydelig industrisatsing. Avslutningsvis identifiseres tre områder som interessante for videre studier: • Livsløpsvurderinger av infrastrukturen i en vindpark. • Vedlikehold i forhold til vindparkstørrelse (MW). • Miljøkonsekvenser ved valg av kabel eller luftlin

Energy Upgrading of Basement Exterior Walls: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Most of today&rsquo;s buildings will still be in use in 2050 and upgrades should therefore contribute to reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint. This paper addresses a challenge for upgrading of basement exterior walls of single-family dwellings, where ordinary retrofit insulation can lead to the basement wall protruding from the existing outer wall. For some, this will be an aesthetic barrier for an energy upgrade (an &ldquo;ugly&rdquo; solution). Superinsulation may solve this challenge without compromising the energy performance. This study analyses energy, cost and carbon footprint, to identify under which conditions upgrading with vacuum insulation panels (VIP) can be a preferred solution. Three alternatives are analysed in a parametric model: ordinary upgrade with XPS (the aesthetically &ldquo;ugly&rdquo;), upgrade with VIP above ground and XPS below ground (the aesthetically &ldquo;good&rdquo;), and iii) no upgrade (the &ldquo;bad&rdquo;, as it does not contribute to reducing energy consumption). Results show that using VIP and XPS to perform energy upgrade of a basement exterior wall may lead to an aesthetically more pleasing solution than with only XPS, but that it will lead to higher carbon footprint and higher costs. The least favourable option is to install a drainage system without doing an energy upgrade, which will have negative impact for energy use, carbon footprint and life cycle cost