Embodied Energy Calculation in Mitigating Environmental Impact of Low-Cost Housing Construction

Abstract

Reduction of the negative impacts of building construction, or mitigation, should be done in the early phase of a project. Particular method that can be used to reduce the negative impact is Embodied Energy (EE) calculation. This research develops a method to calculate the total EE of materials used in building construction by using the Material Selection Analysis (MSA) based on Indonesia’s Construction Work Unit Price Analysis (WUPA). MSA breaks down the types, its unit, and total volume of materials within an object. Using the EE data from Inventory Carbon and Energy (ICE) Bath, in the UK, this research calculate the embodied energy in three small house types in Indonesia: Type 21 M2, Type 36 M2, and Type 45 M2. The result reveals a negative correlation between building’s area and EE value. Nonetheless, the EE value is positively related to the volume of material used. Proposed strategies to decrease the value of EE in low cost housing construction manly; a) design approach in improving the efficiency of material usage, b) materials substitution to material with lower value of EE, especially on material on large volume of usage, c) socialization of EE value to stakeholders as consideration in determining the choice of materials used, thus, environmental mitigation is expected to be an important aspect in determining the design decisions and the choice of materials used.