Abstract
There is an increasing demand for the decarbonization of existing buildings. The development of standardized calculation methods has simplified calculation processes and enabled wider engagement with the topic. As the industry advances, optimization and accounting for regional differences will increase in importance. This paper reviews the key drivers in the field, both locally and internationally, and proposes a performance-based evaluation method specific to local construction in Egypt. The aim of the method is to assist in the renovation of existing buildings by guiding the decision-making process through the proposed evaluation framework. A local case study of an existing multi-story apartment building was used to create a baseline for typical local multi-story residential buildings and demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed evaluation method. This framework provides the owners of buildings with a decision-making process by which carbon impacts associated with future renovations and operations of existing buildings can be minimized.
Highlights
Energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions in the built environment are highly sought objectives today
Using life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the impact of a building on the environment involves accounting for and calculating all the energy processes involved in the production, maintenance, and demolition of the analyzed building
Where research in the reduction of embodied energy and carbon emissions focuses on the micro-scale of an individual building, larger-scale incentives such as these could have a profound effect on neighborhood, district, and city scales
Summary
Energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions in the built environment are highly sought objectives today. An estimated 40% of total energy consumption worldwide results from the building and construction industry [1]; the building sector is a significant contributor of carbon as well as other emissions [2]. Using LCA to determine the impact of a building on the environment involves accounting for and calculating all the energy processes involved in the production, maintenance, and demolition of the analyzed building. These processes are generally divided into two distinct categories: embodied energy processes and operational energy processes
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