Assessment of CO2 emissions reduction in a distribution warehouse

Building energy use accounts for almost 50% of the total CO2 emissions in the UK. Most of the research has focused on reducing the operational impact of buildings, however in recent years many studies have indicated the significance of embodied energy in different building types. This paper primarily focuses on illustrating the relative importance of operational and embodied energy in a flexible use light distribution warehouse. The building is chosen for the study as it is relatively easy to model and represents many distribution centres and industrial warehouses in Europe. A carbon footprinting study was carried out by conducting an inventory of the major installed materials with potentially significant carbon impact and material substitutions covering the building structure. Ecotect computer simulation program was used to determine the energy consumption for the 25 years design life of the building. This paper evaluates alternative design strategies for the envelope of the building and their effects on the whole life emissions by investigating both embodied and operational implications of changing the envelope characteristics. The results provide an insight to quantify the total amount of CO2 emissions saved through design optimisation by modelling embodied and operational energy

Illustrating limitations of energy studies of buildings with LCA and actor analysis

Does passive housing really have better environmental performance than conventional housing? Three passive houses and four conventional houses were compared using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The comparison also provided an actor analysis for the building supply chain and building inhabitants. Results are presented for two scenarios: 'conventional choices' and 'green choices' by the actors. The comparison confirms that passive houses have lower energy use than conventional houses, but when the environmental impact of energy production is taken into consideration, the outcome is less clear. Conventional houses can be equally good environmentally in terms of global warming, acidification, or radioactive waste as typical passive houses with electrical heating depending on the actors' choices. Actor analysis shows that inhabitants' and material producers' electricity choice are very important, while other choices (e.g. green transport) are less important. The findings highlight the importance of environmentally responsible decisions throughout the whole life cycle and the need for appropriate behaviours and actions, along with implications for improved communication. Les logements passifs ont-ils un rendement environnemental vraiment meilleur que les logements classiques ? Trois maisons passives et quatre maisons classiques ont ete comparees en utilisant une methodologie faisant appel a l'analyse du cycle de vie (ACV). Cette comparaison a egalement fourni une analyse des acteurs concernant la chaine logistique dans le batiment et les habitants des immeubles. Les resultats sont presentes pour deux scenarios, les acteurs operant dans l'un des << choix classiques >> et dans l'autre des << choix verts >>. La comparaison confirme que les maisons passives ont une consommation energetique moindre que les maisons classiques, mais lorsque l'impact environnemental de la production d'energie est pris en compte, le resultat est moins clair. Selon les choix operes par les acteurs, les maisons classiques peuvent etre aussi bonnes en termes de rechauffement climatique, d'acidification ou de dechets radioactifs que les maisons passives types equipees de chauffage electrique. L'analyse des acteurs montre que les choix faits en matiere d'electricite par les habitants et les fabricants de materiaux ont beaucoup d'importance, tandis que les autres choix (par ex. transport vert) sont moins importants. Ces constatations mettent en evidence l'importance de la prise de decisions environnementalement responsables tout au long du cycle de vie, la necessite de comportements et de mesures adaptes, ainsi que les implications qui en decoulent en termes d'amelioration de la communication. Mots cles: analyse des acteurs, evaluation environnementale, logement, comportement des habitants, analyse du cycle de vie (ACV), batiment bas carbone, maison passive

A method and tool for ‘cradle to grave’ embodied energy and carbon impacts of UK buildings in compliance with the new TC350 standards

As operational impacts from buildings are reduced, embodied impacts are increasing. However, the latter are seldom calculated in the UK; when they are, they tend to be calculated after the building has been constructed, or are underestimated by considering only the initial materials stage. In 2010, the UK Government recommended that a standard methodology for calculating embodied impacts of buildings be developed for early stage design decisions. This was followed in 2011–12 by the publication of the European TC350 standards defining the ‘cradle to grave’ impact of buildings and products through a process Life Cycle Analysis. This paper describes a new whole life embodied carbon and energy of buildings (ECEB) tool, designed as a usable empirical-based approach for early stage design decisions for UK buildings. The tool complies where possible with the TC350 standards. Initial results for a simple masonry construction dwelling are given in terms of the percentage contribution of each life cycle stage. The main difficulty in obtaining these results is found to be the lack of data, and the paper suggests that the construction and manufacturing industries now have a responsibility to develop new data in order to support this task

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of sustainable building materials: An overview

The construction industry is one of the largest exploiters of both renewable and non-renewable natural resources. It was inevitable that it would find itself at the centre of concerns regarding environmental impact. The process and operation of building construction consumes a great deal of materials throughout its service life cycle. The selection and use of sustainable building materials play an important role in the design and construction of green building. This chapter sets out to present an overview of sustainable building materials and their impacts on the environment. It also discusses the life cycle assessment as a methodological principle and framework, and its limitations for the analysis of sustainable building materials. © 2014 Woodhead Publishing Limited All rights reserved

A framework for integrating sustainability estimation with concepts of rules of building measurement

BIM promises improvement in project delivery efficiencies such as reduction in costs and errors and timely completion. Benefits are also expected in sustainable construction aspect with research efforts being extended to sustainable design and assessment. These efforts are still been explored for the purposes of unifying quantification methodologies, the standardisation of system boundaries, terms of references and sustainability measures. Embodied energy and CO2 are two common measures that have been widely used in the construction sector. Although a number calculation system exists, they are not useful to the iterations that occur at the early stages of the project life cycle. At the procurement stage, professionals often rely on schedules and bill of quantities with no reference to sustainability credentials. It is therefore important to integrate sustainability measure with concepts in standard measurement methods. As such, we propose a framework to integrate sustainability credential with the concepts in rule of building measurement. We conclude that this framework can be applicable to any rule of building measurement and it is implementable in a computer programmable environment

Sustainable Construction Technologies: Life Cycle Assessment.

The building and construction industry has become the focus of environmental impact reduction in the aftermath of the global resolution to reduce its adverse effect and make the built environment more sustainable. This chapter examines the place of materials in sustainable building construction generally and from the perspective of life cycle assessment and reduction of environmental impact. Hence, specific approaches to sustainable construction from the perspective of materials such as improved material production processes, recycling, materials substitution, innovative construction methods, deconstruction, use of innovative materials, and use of eco-friendly materials are explained from the life cycle impact perspective. The implications of the approaches for improved uptake of sustainable construction practices are also examined with particular reference to the role of policy framework and legislatio

Urban Form Energy Use and Emissions in China: Preliminary Findings and Model Proof of Concept

Urbanization is reshaping China's economy, society, and energy system. Between 1990 and 2008 China added more than 300 million new urban residents, bringing the total urbanization rate to 46%. The ongoing population shift is spurring energy demand for new construction, as well as additional residential use with the replacement of rural biomass by urban commercial energy services. This project developed a modeling tool to quantify the full energy consequences of a particular form of urban residential development in order to identify energy- and carbon-efficient modes of neighborhood-level development and help mitigate resource and environmental implications of swelling cities. LBNL developed an integrated modeling tool that combines process-based lifecycle assessment with agent-based building operational energy use, personal transport, and consumption modeling. The lifecycle assessment approach was used to quantify energy and carbon emissions embodied in building materials production, construction, maintenance, and demolition. To provide more comprehensive analysis, LBNL developed an agent-based model as described below. The model was applied to LuJing, a residential development in Jinan, Shandong Province, to provide a case study and model proof of concept. This study produced results data that are unique by virtue of their scale, scope and type. Whereas most existing literature focuses on building-, city-, or national-level analysis, this study covers multi-building neighborhood-scale development. Likewise, while most existing studies focus exclusively on building operational energy use, this study also includes embodied energy related to personal consumption and buildings. Within the boundaries of this analysis, food is the single largest category of the building energy footprint, accounting for 23% of the total. On a policy level, the LCA approach can be useful for quantifying the energy and environmental benefits of longer average building lifespans. In addition to prospective analysis for standards and certification, urban form modeling can also be useful in calculating or verifying ex post facto, bottom-up carbon emissions inventories. Emissions inventories provide a benchmark for evaluating future outcomes and scenarios as well as an empirical basis for valuing low-carbon technologies. By highlighting the embodied energy and emissions of building materials, the LCA approach can also be used to identify the most intensive aspects of industrial production and the supply chain. The agent based modeling aspect of the model can be useful for understanding how policy incentives can impact individual behavior and the aggregate effects thereof. The most useful elaboration of the urban form assessment model would be to further generalize it for comparative analysis. Scenario analysis could be used for benchmarking and identification of policy priorities. If the model is to be used for inventories, it is important to disaggregate the energy use data for more accurate emissions modeling. Depending on the policy integration of the model, it may be useful to incorporate occupancy data for per-capita results. On the question of density and efficiency, it may also be useful to integrate a more explicit spatial scaling mechanism for modeling neighborhood and city-level energy use and emissions, i.e. to account for scaling effects in public infrastructure and transportation