Analyzing the Climate Change Potential of Residential Steel Buildings in New Zealand and Their Alignment in Meeting the 2050 Paris Agreement Targets

Wu, Hannah; Liang, Hao; Roy, Krishanu; Harrison, Ethan; Fang, Zujie; Silva, Karnika De; Collins, Nick; Lim, James B.P.

doi:10.3390/buildings12030290

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The predominant framing section for steel-framed dwellings was assumed to be a lipped channel section '89LC75 G550', with a depth of 89 mm, base metal thickness (BMT) of 0.75 mm, and a density of 7850 kg/m 3 . 27 Steel sections with a slightly wider flange were used for the top plate in accordance with the National Association of Steel Framed Housing (NASH) standards. 28 Existing data could not be found regarding the typical wall area of a residential dwelling.…”

Section: Wall Framing and Trussesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary materials flow analysis for Aotearoa New Zealand’s building construction sector

Nelson¹,

Elliot²,

Pickering³

et al. 2022

Āmiomio Aotearoa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This report describes the methodology used to produce a database of construction material flow in Aotearoa New Zealand and summarises the contents of that database. The database was produced as part of a wider research programme, Āmiomio Aotearoa, which aims to help New Zealand transition to a circular economy. In order to assess the materials flowing through the building construction sector, the research focussed on residential dwellings, which constituted a larger proportion of the sector than commercial construction in terms of number of new buildings, floor area of new buildings, and the value of new buildings.¹ The building envelope, including the foundations, structure, cladding, roofing, insulation, and lining of the structure, was examined as it accounted for the largest portion of materials in each dwelling. The data was assessed through the four key stages of material flow: material input, construction, demolition and material output. In terms of material input, timber was the most thoroughly documented material used in construction. An estimated 1.98 million tonnes of timber and timber-based products were supplied to the New Zealand market through local production and imports in 2021. Furthermore, it was estimated that roughly 10.4 million tonnes of ready-mix concrete were used in 2021. Meanwhile, approximately 850 thousand tonnes of steel are consumed within New Zealand annually. However, the amount of concrete and steel that is consumed in the building construction sector specifically is unknown. An estimation of the materials used in the envelope of residential buildings, based on consent data, New Zealand building reports and standard residential building designs, suggested that concrete and masonry were the most used materials in construction, followed by timber, plasterboard, and metals. In total, it was estimated that 2.07 million tonnes of material were consumed in 2021 in the residential construction sector. A case study using purchase order data validated this estimation, showing that the key materials studied were all of the same magnitude. Data on the number of demolitions in New Zealand was very limited, largely because consents are not required for the demolition of houses under three stories.² However, using some assumptions around census and new building consent data, it was calculated that roughly 5,488 residential demolitions occur annually in the current state of the industry. Waste from the building construction sector was studied in terms of the whole construction and demolition sector, as well as the expected waste from residential construction and demolition. It was expected that the total construction and demolition sector produces roughly 3.6 million tonnes of waste annually, with an additional 1.4 million tonnes of material from construction being recovered. However, the study found that the differentiation between infrastructure, commercial, and residential construction waste was largely unmeasured. The residential construction sector was estimated to produce 347 thousand tonnes of waste in 2021, of which 267 thousand tonnes was expected to go to landfill. This waste was produced from: The building envelope (147 thousand tonnes); the rest of the construction (49 thousand tonnes); alterations of residential buildings (25 thousand tonnes); and demolition of residential structures (126 thousand tonnes). Estimations indicated that concrete was the largest contributor to waste, followed by plasterboard and then timber. The report also includes comments from industry experts to further portray the picture of the current state of material flow in the construction and demolition sector, and the issues faced with the production of waste. Overall, this report is a first attempt to provide a picture of materials flowing through New Zealand’s building construction sector. Due to limitations of data currently being collected within NZ and available to the team within the timeframe of the project, the report has focused on estimating the materials used in the shell of residential buildings; detailing where and how materials are being recycled was out of scope. Contradiction with perceived state of the art recycling is likely due, at least in part, to assumptions that because materials can be recycled, they are indeed being recycled (as per our domestic recycle bins). Despite the data limitations, this report and associated database usefully indicate prime waste materials for incorporation into novel building materials and therefore provide insight to support the direction of future research. The report and associated database also provide a foundation which could be used to support further enterprise to provide a clearer picture of materials flows within the building construction sector.

show abstract

Section: Wall Framing and Trussesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary materials flow analysis for Aotearoa New Zealand’s building construction sector

Nelson¹,

Elliot²,

Pickering³

et al. 2022

Āmiomio Aotearoa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Masood et al underscored the necessity for research into the sustainability dimension of offsite construction methods, including 3DP construction, within the country [49]. Moreover, Wu et al [50] underscored that significant transformation within the housing sector would be necessary to achieve the objectives set forth in the 2050 Paris Agreement. Hence, this study seeks to explore the viability of 3D-printed (3DP) concrete for residential housing in New Zealand, specifically examining its environmental performance in construction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Appraising the Feasibility of 3D Printing Construction in New Zealand Housing

Khan,

Dani,

Lim

et al. 2024

Buildings

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The construction industry in New Zealand is significantly impacted by the importance of housing, particularly as urbanisation continues to grow in major cities. Modern construction methods, such as offsite construction and building automation, evolving into digital manufacturing and construction in the industry, have become prominent. Despite the global recognition of 3D printing technology, its adoption in the construction industry in New Zealand is still relatively limited. This study aims to examine the feasibility of 3D printing construction in response to current market challenges, innovation, and the 2050 net-zero carbon goal. Utilising Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approaches, this study investigated the environmental impacts of three housing types: 3D printing (3DP), light steel framed (LSF), and timber. This study used cradle-to-cradle as the system boundary. The results indicate that the 3DP house emits 20% fewer carbon emissions than the traditional timber house and 25% less than the LSF house. Additionally, the 3DP house exhibits a 19% lower annual electric energy consumption than the timber house. Therefore, in response to the growing housing demand in New Zealand, the construction industry must innovate and embrace digital and advanced construction methods, including the adoption of 3D printing.

show abstract

“…Greenhouse gases are regarded as the key reason for global warming [3], while carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion are regarded as the direct contributor to greenhouse gases [4]. In the context of global warming, carbon emissions have become a strong focus in academia [5,6]. Given that, countries have joined in the procession of carbon emissions mitigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis of Carbon Emissions in Xinjiang Energy Base, China

Qin

Gao

et al. 2022

Energies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

China faces a difficult choice of maintaining socioeconomic development and carbon emissions mitigation. Analyzing the decoupling relationship between economic development and carbon emissions and its driving factors from a regional perspective is the key for the Chinese government to achieve the 2030 emission reduction target. This study adopted the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method and Tapio index, decomposed the driving forces of the decoupling, and measured the sector’s decoupling states from carbon emissions in Xinjiang province, China. The results found that: (1) Xinjiang’s carbon emissions increased from 93.34 Mt in 2000 to 468.12 Mt in 2017. Energy-intensive industries were the key body of carbon emissions in Xinjiang. (2) The economic activity effect played the decisive factor to carbon emissions increase, which account for 93.58%, 81.51%, and 58.62% in Xinjiang during 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2017, respectively. The energy intensity effect proved the dominant influence for carbon emissions mitigation, which accounted for −22.39% of carbon emissions increase during 2000–2010. (3) Weak decoupling (WD), expansive coupling (EC), expansive negative decoupling (END) and strong negative decoupling (SND) were identified in Xinjiang during 2001 to 2017. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita elasticity has a major inhibitory effect on the carbon emissions decoupling. Energy intensity elasticity played a major driver to the decoupling in Xinjiang. Most industries have not reached the decoupling state in Xinjiang. Fuel processing, power generation, chemicals, non-ferrous, iron and steel industries mainly shown states of END and EC. On this basis, it is suggested that local governments should adjust the industrial structure, optimize energy consumption structure, and promote energy conservation and emission reduction to tap the potential of carbon emissions mitigation in key sectors.

show abstract

Analyzing the Climate Change Potential of Residential Steel Buildings in New Zealand and Their Alignment in Meeting the 2050 Paris Agreement Targets

Cited by 10 publications

References 79 publications

Preliminary materials flow analysis for Aotearoa New Zealand’s building construction sector

Preliminary materials flow analysis for Aotearoa New Zealand’s building construction sector

Appraising the Feasibility of 3D Printing Construction in New Zealand Housing

Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis of Carbon Emissions in Xinjiang Energy Base, China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About