Significance of whole life embodied energy and embodied carbon of wall materials compared to their initial/maintenance costs

Abstract

Although there have been many past studies done on the impact of embodied energy (EE) and embodied carbon (EC) of walling materials on the total life cycle energy and emissions of the building, this research focused mainly on identifying the significance of EE and EC of three types of walling materials commonly used in Sri Lanka with respect to their initial and maintenance costs. A mixed research approach consisting of semi-structured interviews and a case study was adopted to study the three types of walling materials: conventional bricks, cement blocks and eco-interlocking bricks. A questionnaire was also distributed among 60 households. The three walling materials were ranked based on their initial/maintenance costs and whole life EE and EC. The eco-interlocking brick was ranked first, cement block second and conventional brick third. A methodology was also developed to identify the walling material most suitable for Sri Lanka, by analyzing the initial/maintenance costs and whole life EE and EC of different walling materials available in the country.