Research on influences of wall design on embodied and operating energy consumption: A case study of temporary building in China

Abstract

Building energy conservation has received attention globally due to the significant environmental effects of the building industry. Because of the dual character of energy saving measures, it is important to weigh the overall advantages of embodied and operating stage under local conditions.This study compared the influence of exterior wall materials on energy consumption of light-framed temporary buildings. The exterior wall was divided into four layers and different materials and thickness options were selected in accordance with the design and related research. There were a total of 3 outermost materials, 16 exterior insulation options, 7 air gap thickness, and 4 inner filling insulation materials, which can be combined to generate 1344 design schemes. In order to compare the embodied and operating energy consumption of all schemes, a framework of building energy consumption prediction method was established. The rapid energy consumption prediction was realized by combining building model, Ecoinvent Database and EnergyPlus software with programming language. The calculation program could be adjusted based on the results to support the analysis of the materials' influence mechanism on energy consumption. This study verified the feasibility of the prediction method through an example analysis. The research results demonstrated that different materials and thicknesses have distinct or even opposing impacts on embodied and operating energy consumption, which needs to be considered comprehensively. Additionally, suggestions on the selection of materials for each layer of exterior wall are proposed for this case.