A science-based approach to setting climate targets for buildings: The case of a New Zealand detached house

Chandrakumar, Chanjief; McLaren, Susan; Dowdell, David; Jaques, Roman

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106560

Cited by 40 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…To that end, Chandrakumar et al (2019Chandrakumar et al ( , 2020b proposed a top-down based approach for determining carbon budgets for building stocks (and individual buildings), considering the existing national building stock which should be operated in a country from now to a certain time in the future (e.g. 2030, 2050) as well as the new building stock that should be constructed in the same period.…”

Section: Budgets For National or Regional Building Stockmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 Gross floor areas for New Zealand's newly built single-family detached house, medium-density house and apartment are 198, 114, and 94 m 2 , respectively. 4 For a detailed description of these dwellings, see Chandrakumar et al (2020b). 5 The approaches used in the concept of 2000 Watt Society vision do not consider the potential changes of built area over the years.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions

Habert¹,

Röck²,

Steininger³

et al. 2020

Buildings and Cities

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Target values for creating carbon budgets for buildings are important for developing climateneutral building stocks. A lack of clarity currently exists for defining carbon budgets for buildings and what constitutes a unit of assessment-particularly the distinction between production-and consumption-based accounting. These different perspectives on the system and the function that is assessed hinder a clear and commonly agreed definition of 'carbon budgets' for building construction and operation. This paper explores the processes for establishing a carbon budget for residential and non-residential buildings. A detailed review of current approaches to budget allocation is presented. The temporal and spatial scales of evaluation are considered as well as the distribution rules for sharing the budget between parties or activities. This analysis highlights the crucial need to define the temporal scale, the roles of buildings as physical artefacts and their economic activities. A framework is proposed to accommodate these different perspectives and spatio-temporal scales towards harmonised and comparable cross-sectoral budget definitions. Policy relevance The potential to develop, implement and monitor greenhouse gas-related policies and strategies for buildings will depend on the provision of clear targets. Based on global limits, a carbon budget can establish system boundaries and scalable targets. An operational framework is presented that clarifies greenhouse gas targets for buildings in the different parts of the world that is adaptable to the context and circumstances of a particular place. A carbon budget can enable national regulators to set feasible and legally binding requirements. This will assist the many different stakeholders responsible for decisions on buildings to coordinate and incorporate their specific responsibility at one specific level or scale of activity to ensure overall compliance. Therefore, determining a task specific carbon budget requires an appropriate management of the global carbon budget to ensure that specific budgets overlap, but that the sum of them is equal to the available global budget without double-counting.

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Section: Budgets For National or Regional Building Stockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions

Habert¹,

Röck²,

Steininger³

et al. 2020

Buildings and Cities

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Likewise, in the building sector, environmental impacts of low-carbon strategies are mainly due to producing materials and most of the impacts reduce in the operational phase [50]. Considering the high embodied energy of materials used in the building sector, studies have analysed the benefits of reuse, recovery or recycling those materials [49], [52]. The building sector is in the early stage of a low-carbon transition [48], and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment [60] is in the process of developing the Building for Climate Change programme, which will consider the whole-of-life embodied emissions.…”

Section: Lifecycle Impacts Of Low-carbon Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[48] Local Calculated embodied emissions of materials; analysed emissions benefits of reuse, recovery or recycling. [49] Local Calculated environmental impacts of refurbishment, considering improvement of construction practice, PV usage, and increase of renewables share on electricity.…”

Section: Lifecycle Impacts Of Low-carbon Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering Material Cycles for a Transition to Low-Carbon Energy Systems in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Systematic Review

Pincelli

Brent

Hinkley

2021

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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The decarbonisation of energy systems plays a central role in climate change mitigation strategies. Yet, the implementation of new energy infrastructure increases material demand, especially metals, and poses a challenge with managing their end-of-life. However, it is not yet clear to what extent integrated analyses of energy and material systems have been undertaken for the New Zealand context. This paper provides a systematic literature review to inform how material analyses have been incorporated in the planning of low-carbon energy systems in New Zealand. The results show that research efforts have forecasted low-carbon energy systems and modelled some of the infrastructure required, as well as the associated lifecycle emissions considering scenarios of different renewable electricity mixes and of improvements in energy efficiency. However, material systems -whether virgin material demand or implications for recycling -have not been considered in low-carbon energy pathways for New Zealand. We recommend energy and material systems analyses for New Zealand should become more integrated to inform better policy and decision-making. This could be achieved by developing a model that integrates energy system modelling with dynamic stock-flow models and prospective lifecycle analysis.

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“…New Zealand housing uses about a third of the energy generated (Overton, 2019, p. 62). A study by Chandrakumar et al (2020) found that existing detached houses are projected to contribute to 66% of climate impacts in New Zealand. Of the amount, three-quarters are due to operational energy, and therefore, the study emphasises the high focus to retrofit and refurbish existing housing to reduce the impacts (p. 8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enriching the Envelope Experience

Martin¹

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Enriching the Envelope Experience is a design strategy for an external retrofit to revitalise existing housing. The aim is to create warmer, drier, healthier homes without having to displace the occupants. For many New Zealander’s, inefficient housing is negatively affecting occupant health and wellbeing. Preventable health issues place pressure on healthcare systems, costing valuable resources. The climate, housing, and healthcare crisis desperately require improvements to existing housing for warmer, healthier, and happier homes. Currently, the design of New Zealand housing is inefficient for climate resulting in uncomfortable living conditions. There is a global dependence on finite resources, and the ongoing resource use will reach capacity. Desperate attention to the environmental and economic impact is needed to sustain the precious resources. NewZealand is obligated to reach the 2050 climate goals. The design of buildings needs attention to mitigate the 39% carbon emissions by the construction industry and achieve net-zero carbon housing goals. Lengthy rebuilds require displacing people from their homes and communities and increase the demand for housing and resources. The demolition and rebuild further adds to the significant waste issue. Therefore, there is an opportunity to improve the existing housing stock as a readily available resource. The 1940s-1960s State House is a standardized housing typology mass-produced in New Zealand, and often of poor condition, it was an appropriate site to investigate for a retrofit design strategy. A design framework informed by sustainable design standards, case studies and understanding of the 1940s-1960s house typology directed the design process. The research outcome resulted in an external wall design strategy to improve the occupants’ home experience.

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A science-based approach to setting climate targets for buildings: The case of a New Zealand detached house

Cited by 40 publications

References 25 publications

Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions

Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions

Considering Material Cycles for a Transition to Low-Carbon Energy Systems in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Systematic Review

Enriching the Envelope Experience

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