A Conceptual Model for Assessing Circularity Potential of Building Materials at the Product Manufacturing Stage

The construction industry presently accounts for 30% of natural resource extraction and 25% of solid waste generation. The prevailing economy is “Linear” which is summarised as take-make dispose. On the contrary, the “circular economy” model is a systematic model to restore, regenerate and expand the lifecycle of materials. Most of the existing circularity assessment methods are focused on the end-of-life wastage of building materials while neglecting resource consumption and wastage at the product manufacturing stage. Further, these methods only consider direct material flows for assessing the circularity potential of building materials and overlook the indirect material flows associated with product manufacturing. There is a need to develop metrics to assess the circularity performance of building materials more holistically. Therefore, this study proposes a conceptual model to assess the circularity potential of building materials by analysing both direct and indirect material flow processes of the product manufacturing stage including raw material extraction, transportation, and manufacturing. The method used to design the conceptual model includes a comprehensive literature review in two stages. First, the existing circular assessment methods are reviewed to identify the methods used for assessing the circularity potential of building materials. Secondly, the circularity options are explored to develop the circularity metrics. According to the findings of this study, in the absence of a comprehensive method to assess the circularity potential of building materials, the life cycle assessment and material flow analysis are the most prominent circularity assessment methods used. Furthermore, circularity options such as industrial waste (by-products), biodegradability, biofuels, renewable energy, reusability, recoverability, recyclability and product life span are identified as the circularity metrics for building materials at the product manufacturing stage

The impact of occupants’ behaviours on building energy analysis: A research review

Over the past 15 years, the evaluation of energy demand and use in buildings has become increasingly acute due to growing scientific and political pressure around the world in response to climate change. The estimation of the use of energy in buildings is therefore a critical process during the design stage. This paper presents a review of the literature published in leading journals through Science Direct and Scopus databases within this research domain to establish research trends, and importantly, to identify research gaps for future investigation. It has been widely acknowledged in the literature that there is an alarming performance gap between the predicted and actual energy consumption of buildings (sometimes this has been up to 300% difference). Analysis of the impact of occupants’ behaviour has been largely overlooked in building energy performance analysis. In short, energy simulation tools utilise climatic data and physical/ thermal properties of building elements in their calculations, and the impact of occupants is only considered through means of fixed and scheduled patterns of behaviour. This research review identified a number of areas for future research including: larger scale analysis (e.g. urban analysis); interior design, in terms of space layout, and fixtures and fittings on occupants’ behaviour; psychological cognitive behavioural methods; and the integration of quantitative and qualitative research findings in energy simulation tools to name but a few

The Influence of Space Layout Design on Occupant’s Energy Behaviour

In the past 15 years, the calculation of energy consumption in buildings has become more and more critical due to growing scientific and political concerns to respond to the challenges of global warming and climate change. The estimation of energy demand in buildings is now often a required process during the design stages. Yet, there is a considerable discrepancy between the predicted and actual energy consumption in buildings due to occupantsÕ energy consumption activities. OccupantsÕ presence and their interactions with building systems play a significant role in buildingÕs energy consumption; however, it has been overlooked in building energy predictions. Different studies have been performed with the aim to better understand the parameters affecting occupantÕs energy behaviour with special focus on climatic, economics, regulations and social/personal aspects. Interior design of the space, too, has various impacts on behaviours of occupants and their interactions with building systems which affects the energy consumption of buildings. Space layout is a feature within interior design of space which influences occupantsÕ movement and choices of intentional behaviours. This paper highlights a gap in the knowledge by introducing Òspace layoutÓ features as an influential factor on occupantÕs energy behaviours and propose an analytical method to study the impact of the space layout on occupantsÕ energy behaviours. Understanding the impact will help designers influence the sustainable behaviour through the design of interior spaces