Contribution of energy efficiency standards to life-cycle carbon footprint reduction in public buildings in Chile

Abstract

Public policy in Chile proposes reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Regarding the construction sector, the application of energy efficiency standards in public buildings has been encouraged. However, the contribution of these standards to life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction still remains unknown. This study aims to determine the impact of implementing the Standardized Reference Terms of Energy Efficiency (TDRe for its Spanish acronym) on the reduction of the Carbon Footprint (hereafter CF) during the life cycle of public buildings. To that end, a theoretical calculation and analysis of the CF of four case studies is performed comprising the construction and use phases of their life cycle. The inclusion of the construction phase allows understanding the actual implications of implementing TDRe in buildings. The results show that TDRe can reduce the use phase CF of the case studies in 82%, in contrast with the increase of the construction phase CF in 14%. Such increase is mostly associated to construction materials of the thermal envelope and the type of fuel used for heating. This leads to conclude that limiting the energy demand of buildings from the design phase is not enough to reduce the building’s entire life cycle CF, and therefore a life-cycle approach that considers the aforementioned elements must be applied in the analysis in order to produce eco-efficient buildings.