Abstract
Recent studies have identified that buildings all over the world are great contributors to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The relationship between the building industry and environmental pollution is continuously discussed. The building industry includes many phases: extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, construction, use, and demolition. Each phase consumes a large amount of energy, and subsequent emissions are released. The life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) is a simplified version of the life cycle assessment (LCA) that focuses only on the evaluation of energy inputs for different phases of the life cycle. Operational energy is the energy required for day-to-day operation processes of buildings, such as heating, cooling and ventilation systems, lighting, as well as appliances. This use phase accounts for the largest portion of energy consumption of the life cycle of conventional buildings. In addition, energy performance certification of buildings is an obligation under current European legislation, which promotes efficient energy use, so it is necessary to ensure that the energy performance of the building is upgraded to meet minimum requirements. For this purpose, this work proposes the consideration of the energy impacts and material resources used in the operation phase of a building to calculate the contribution of these energy impacts as new variables for the energy performance certification. The application of this new approach to the evaluation of university buildings has been selected as a case study. From a methodological point of view, the approach relied on the energy consumption records obtained from energy and materials audit exercises with the aid of LCA databases. Taking into practice the proposed methodology, the primary energy impact and the related emissions were assessed to simplify the decision-making process for the energy certification of buildings. From the results obtained, it was concluded that the consumption of water and other consumable items (paper) are important from energy and environmental perspectives.
Highlights
The increasing awareness about the environmental impacts caused by energy production and consumption has focused attention on energy-intensive processes
This study aims to go beyond the evaluation of the total energy impacts of the consumption of a building needed for EPCs
As indicated by the standards, this life cycle assessment (LCA) study included the definition of goal and scope, life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis, life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), and interpretation of the results
Summary
The increasing awareness about the environmental impacts caused by energy production and consumption has focused attention on energy-intensive processes. The building industry is a critical sector for the economic and social development of cities because of the services provided but causes important environmental impacts since it is energy-intensive [1,2]. Buildings consume energy throughout their complete life, from construction to demolition. These environmental impacts include mining, materials manufacturing, construction, use, and demolition phases. During the operational phase, characterized by the specific provision of services, general heating and cooling demands, as well as the required maintenance, the energy demand of a building is both direct and indirect. The indirect consumption of energy can be attributable to the production of the materials used in this operational phase [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
