Componentwise-embodied energy analysis of affordable houses in India

Abstract

Building construction industry is one of the prominent sectors of the economy, which is responsible for rapid depletion of natural resources and for increased primary energy uses. Building construction process and production of construction materials consume a significant amount of energy and releases GHGs, which lead to global warming. South Asian countries, including India, are witnessing a major boom in the construction sector, as a result of growing population, increased living standards, and high urbanization. Embodied energy values represent a major share of the total primary energy consumption in the construction sector. This paper represents componentwise analysis of embodied energy for affordable houses in India. Mathematical computations have been done for 22 types of affordable houses having a plinth area of 27–60 m2. The embodied energy values have been calculated for major building components, i.e., foundation, wall, roof, floor, finish/rendering, and terrace/parapet. Results shows that the walls, roofs, and foundations consume about 82–85% of the total embodied energy of the houses. The embodied energy values (EEV) for wall and roof are 39% and 18%, respectively, for single floor/storey houses. These values increased to 50% and 24%, respectively, for a four floor building. In contrast, the EEV values have decreased progressively for foundation and terracing from 25 and 8%, respectively, for single floor house to 11% and 3%, respectively, for four floor building.