IEA EBC annex 57 ‘evaluation of embodied energy and CO 2eq for building construction’

Birgisdóttir, Harpa; Moncaster, Alice; Wiberg, Aoife Anne Marie Houlihan; Chae, Chang-U; Yokoyama, Keizo; Balouktsi, Maria; Seo, Seongwon; Oka, Teruaki; Lützkendorf, Thomas; Malmqvist, Tove

doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.08.030

Cited by 116 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The IEA-EBC Annex 57 research work was organised into four subtasks, each focused on different aspects of EEG in buildings [11]. Subtask 4 was responsible for identifying strategies for the reduction of EEG.…”

Section: The Annex 57 Case Study Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysing methodological choices in calculations of embodied energy and GHG emissions from buildings

Rasmussen

Malmqvist

Moncaster

et al. 2018

Energy and Buildings

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The importance of embodied energy and embodied greenhouse gas emissions (EEG) from buildings is gaining increased interest within building sector initiatives and on a regulatory level. In spite of recent harmonisation efforts, reported results of EEG from building case studies display large variations in numerical results due to variations in the chosen indicators, data sources and both temporal and physical boundaries. The aim of this paper is to add value to existing EEG research knowledge by systematically explaining and analysing the methodological implications of the quantitative results obtained, thus providing a framework for reinterpretation and more effective comparison. The collection of over 80 international case studies developed within the International Energy Agency's EBC Annex 57 research programme is used as the quantitative foundation to present a comprehensive analysis of the multiple interacting methodological parameters. The analysis of methodological parameters is structured by the stepwise methodological choices made in the building EEG assessment practice. Each of six assessment process steps involves one or more methodological choices relevant to the EEG results, and the

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Section: The Annex 57 Case Study Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…the International Energy Agency's Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme (IEA-EBC). Relevant IEA-EBC research work include, most recently, the Annex 57 on EEG in buildings (2011-2016) [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysing methodological choices in calculations of embodied energy and GHG emissions from buildings

Rasmussen

Malmqvist

Moncaster

et al. 2018

Energy and Buildings

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“…The published ranges for each of these, focusing on their potential impact on the key structural materials, are identifed in the next section. A slightly different picture is found by Birgisdottir et al [26], who reviewed 59 quantitative case studies collected as part of an international project. While they too find that the great majority of cases assess the product stages A1-3, the next most commonly assessed phase in their collection is B4 (replacement), and around 60% of cases assessed C3-4.…”

Section: Identifying Three Key Methodsological Variationsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Why method matters: Temporal, spatial and physical variations in LCA and their impact on choice of structural system

Moncaster

Pomponi

Symons

et al. 2018

Energy and Buildings

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly used as an early-stage design-decision tool to support choices of structural system. However LCA modellers must first make numerous methodological decisions, and the resultant wide variations in approach are often inadequately described by the modellers. This paper identifies, and quantifies, the three major areas of methodological variation. These are: temporal differences in the stages considered; spatial differences in the material boundaries; and physical disparities in the data coefficients. The effects are then demonstrated through a case study of a student residential building in Cambridge. The cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure is compared with concrete frame, steel frame and load-bearing masonry, considering the influence that varying the temporal boundaries, the data coefficients, and the spatial boundaries has on the choice. While for this building CLT is confirmed as the lowest impact material, the paper demonstrates that varying the methodological choices can change the results by an alarming factor of 10 or even more. The findings confirm the need for the utmost clarity and transparency with all LCA calculations. Making wider industry or policy decisions based on LCA results should be undertaken with extreme caution.

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“…Directives have the objective to set buildings' requirements, both in terms of energy efficiency and performances [6,7], and of construction materials and products [4,8]. Ad hoc initiatives conclude the set of regulatory strategies targeting the building sector and they include policies regarding resource efficiency, competitiveness, circular economy as overall political, industrial and economic goals, e.g., as proposed in the LEVEL(S) framework [4,9] Consequently, there has been great focus on reducing the operational energy of buildings, which led to increasingly accurate calculation approaches and highly energy efficient building envelopes and systems [10]. The evaluation of energy consumption and related GHG emissions resulting from the use of buildings is becoming more accurate and being applied in the design of more energy efficient building envelopes, systems and regulations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the previously mentioned recognition that the focus on reducing operational impacts needs to be paralleled with a focus on reducing embodied impacts [10], assessing the loads embodied in those energy efficiency-related systems-such as improved insulation and renewable technical equipment-becomes of utmost importance [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies to Improve the Energy Performance of Buildings: A Review of Their Life Cycle Impact

et al. 2018

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Globally, the building sector is responsible for more than 40% of energy use and it contributes approximately 30% of the global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. This high contribution stimulates research and policies to reduce the operational energy use and related GHG emissions of buildings. However, the environmental impacts of buildings can extend wide beyond the operational phase, and the portion of impacts related to the embodied energy of the building becomes relatively more important in low energy buildings. Therefore, the goal of the research is gaining insights into the environmental impacts of various building strategies for energy efficiency requirements compared to the life cycle environmental impacts of the whole building. The goal is to detect and investigate existing trade-offs in current approaches and solutions proposed by the research community. A literature review is driven by six fundamental and specific research questions (RQs), and performed based on two main tasks: (i) selection of literature studies, and (ii) critical analysis of the selected studies in line with the RQs. A final sample of 59 papers and 178 case studies has been collected, and key criteria are systematically analysed in a matrix. The study reveals that the high heterogeneity of the case studies makes it difficult to compare these in a straightforward way, but it allows to provide an overview of current methodological challenges and research gaps. Furthermore, the most complete studies provide valuable insights in the environmental benefits of the identified energy performance strategies over the building life cycle, but also shows the risk of burden shifting if only operational energy use is focused on, or when a limited number of environmental impact categories are assessed.

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IEA EBC annex 57 ‘evaluation of embodied energy and CO 2eq for building construction’

Cited by 116 publications

References 21 publications

Analysing methodological choices in calculations of embodied energy and GHG emissions from buildings

Analysing methodological choices in calculations of embodied energy and GHG emissions from buildings

Why method matters: Temporal, spatial and physical variations in LCA and their impact on choice of structural system

Strategies to Improve the Energy Performance of Buildings: A Review of Their Life Cycle Impact

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