Abstract
The building and construction sector has a huge impact on the environment because of the enormous amounts of natural resources and energy consumed during the life cycle of construction projects. In this study, we evaluated the potential environmental impact of the construction of a villa, from cradle to grave, in the Saudi Arabian context. Centrum voor Milieukunde Leiden (CML) for Centre of Environmental Science of Leiden University-IA baseline v3.03 methods were used to obtain the environmental profile for the impact categories, and Cumulative Energy Demand v1.09 was used to measure the embodied energy of the villa life cycle. The analyzed midpoint impact categories include global warming (GWP100a), ozone layer depletion (ODP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), photochemical oxidation (POCP), and indicator cumulative energy demand (CED). The operation use phase of the villa was found to have the highest global warming potential and acidification with 2.61 × 106 kg CO2-eq and 1.75 × 104 kg SO2-eq, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was performed on the Saudi Arabian plans to increase the share of renewable sources and reduce the amount of electricity generated from hydrocarbons, which currently represents 46% of the total installed power, by 2032. The results showed that compared with the current electricity environmental impact, the CO2 emission from electricity will decrease by 53%, which represents a significant reduction in environmental impact. The findings will help with the life cycle assessment of structures during future planning and for energy conservation.
Highlights
IntroductionThe efficient and effective use of energy and materials is needed across sectors
The midpoint impact categories that were analyzed with Centrum voor Milieukunde Leiden (CML)-IA baseline v3.03 methods were global warming (GWP100a), ozone layer depletion (ODP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), photochemical oxidation (POCP), and indicator cumulative energy demand (CED) following the Cumulative Energy Demand v1.09 method
The results showed that the operational stage has the most impact on energy consumption and the environment in the life cycle of the villa
Summary
The efficient and effective use of energy and materials is needed across sectors. The building sector is no exception to sustainable development. In developed economies, such as those of the United States and the European Union, buildings account for nearly 40% of all primary energy consumption [3]. An extensive study [4] across building types and climate conditions in the United States showed that interventions in the building sector can result in average energy savings of 29%, significantly reducing the overall emissions. In the European Union, the building construction industry annually consumes nearly half of all raw materials and one-third of the water
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