Exploring the effects that a non-stationary climate and dynamic electricity grid mix has on whole building life cycle assessment: A multi-city comparison

Abstract

There is a significant share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributed to the built environment, either for production or the operation of buildings. Various initiatives are being implemented to reduce the release of GHGs into the atmosphere relying on the evaluation, tracking, recording and verification of GHG emissions and removals. The annual accounting of GHG flows associated with buildings should be conducted in a lifecycle context to ensure that policies are effective at mitigating climate change. Buildings operate for decades and both the climate and electricity grid mix are expected to change significantly during such a time frame. This study aims to support the design of resource- as well as energy-efficient buildings using a sound life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology in the preliminary design stage. A straightforward method that can be applied for a detailed understanding of the effects of climate change and prospective electricity grid mix on building energy use is presented. The novelty of this study was to integrate long-term energy projections in a high temporal resolution LCA for buildings and taking into account different future climates and prospective electricity mixes across Canada. The research integrated the dynamic LCA capabilities directly into a Building Information Model (BIM). Such dynamic considerations as climate and energy mix improves the environmental importance and scientific robustness of LCA metrics. The proposed methodology will assist users to apply a clear framework that helps to define an optimized design alternative through a dynamic energy analysis and future weather forecasting simulation. An example of an actual office building is provided to demonstrate the capabilities and usefulness of the developed integrated framework.