Integrating climate change in life cycle assessment of buildings: literature review

D Ramon,K Allacker

doi:10.1088/1755-1315/323/1/012064

Abstract

The operational energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions of buildings are typically influenced by changes during the building service life such as climate change, technological evolution and energy mix evolution. Only few LCA studies consider these temporal variations. This paper investigates how climate change is currently considered in LCA studies. Three aspects related to the influence of climate change on the life cycle impact of buildings are focused on: (1) changes in operational energy use (heating and cooling) due to changes in the climatic context of the building, (2) changes in operational energy use due to technological evolution or climate regulations and (3) changes in energy mix due to climate regulations. All three influence the energy use and related environmental impact but the extent of the effect depends on the considered region, time step and environmental indicators. It is hence recommended to choose an appropriate time period when considering climate change in LCA and consider variations within a time period via dynamic building simulations or to include a static correction. A holistic set of impact categories should be focussed on to avoid burden shifting and the most influencing parameters should be checked via a sensitivity analysis.

Highlights

In 2017, buildings accounted for 36% of the final energy use worldwide and for nearly 40% of the CO2emissions [1]
The operational energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions of buildings are typically influenced by changes during the building service life such as climate change, technological evolution and energy mix evolution
Three aspects related to the influence of climate change on the life cycle impact of buildings are focused on: (1) changes in operational energy use due to changes in the climatic context of the building, (2) changes in operational energy use due to technological evolution or climate regulations and (3) changes in energy mix due to climate regulations

Summary

Introduction

In 2017, buildings accounted for 36% of the final energy use worldwide and for nearly 40% of the CO2emissions [1]. Several parameters influence the operational energy use and related CO2 emissions of buildings, such as energy equipment technology and characteristics, occupant behavior, climate conditions, energy mix and policy rules [6,7,8,9,10] These parameters typically change over the life cycle of the building. We present the state of the art regarding the consideration of climate change in dynamic LCA considering the three aspects mentioned before based on a literature study The influence on both the energy demand and related emissions are reviewed. Changes in energy mix due to climate regulations In addition to increased efficiency measurements, goals are set to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase the use of renewables influencing the energy mix By consequence, trends such as a shift from oil to gas and electrification of heating are expected [14]. In further research [34], Roux stressed the importance of up-to-date data if electricity has an important share in the system as linked technologies and installed capacity change rapidly (e.g. increase in renewable power plant capacity)

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Discussion

Conclusion