Evaluation of the environmental performance of the chilled ceiling system using life cycle assessment (LCA): A case study in Singapore

Abstract

The chilled ceiling (CC) system is regarded as an efficient alternative to the conventional air-conditioning system. In this study, life cycle assessment was adopted to evaluate the environmental performance of a CC system installed in Singapore over a period of 20 years. To facilitate the evaluation, the CC system was further compared with the conventional air-based variable air volume (VAV) system. For the CC system, results indicate that the operation phase contributes the most to global warming, ozone depletion, photochemical ozone creation, acidification, and eutrophication. Among five main system components (chiller plant, AHU, pump, CC panel and air distribution system), chiller plant causes the highest environmental burden due to the high material content and the substantial annual electricity consumption. When compared with VAV system, CC system performs better in all five impact categories investigated due to the great saving in electricity consumption. Finally, three different electricity mix compositions are discussed, which show that increasing the portion of natural gas in the electricity mix improves the environmental performance and reduces the contribution of operation phase to the life cycle environmental impact.