Building a dwelling that remains carbon-neutral over its lifetime – A case study in Kinmen

Abstract

A low-carbon dwelling has been built on Kinmen, which is a low-carbon demonstration island belonging to Taiwan. This study explores the carbon footprint of the lifecycle of the building based on the construction of low-carbon dwelling itself, and the family members who live in it, who have all adopted a low-carbon lifestyle. The building lifecycle is divided into five segments: the new construction materials, construction phase, daily energy consumption, repair and renewal work, and demolition process. This study analyzes and documents the carbon emissions during these five segments, and also includes carbon-offset designs through low-carbon strategies. The results indicate that a zero-carbon dwelling can be achieved through a platform that incorporates various sustainable designs and lifestyle modifications. This living laboratory focuses on data collection during the process of the building's development from low-carbon to zero-carbon. The energy use intensity (EUI) of the building is 33.01 kWh/m2y, which is significantly lower than the average EUI of 49.3 kWh/m2y for conventional buildings. The daily energy consumption is the largest contributor to the carbon footprint, and has the highest carbon footprint at approximately 60.7% of the total.