Low carbon and low embodied energy materials in buildings: A review

Estimation and Minimization of Embodied Carbon of Buildings: A Review

“…The effects of material types on the embodied carbon of buildings and the possibility of minimizing the carbon footprint of building through the selection of low-carbon materials have been widely studied in the literature [19,26,30]. By evaluating the embodied carbon of a number of office buildings made with different materials, Dimoudia and Tompa reported that the highest share of embodied energy belonged to the structural materials (concrete and reinforcement steel), which accounted for about 59% to 66% of the total embodied energy of the building [31].…”

“…The cradle to gate embodied carbon of materials should ideally account for three types of carbon emissions: (i) carbon emissions incurred during the material manufacturing and processing operations [18]; (ii) emissions due to the release of carbon compounds in the raw material [46]; and (iii) emissions due to a depreciation in the embodied carbon value of the equipment used to process materials, i.e., the gradual loss of carbon invested into manufacturing of equipment [30]. The second type of carbon can be estimated through evaluating the composition of the material, whereas the first type requires a detailed evaluation of the processes involved in manufacturing and processing of materials into their final form, leaving the gate of the manufacturer's site [46].…”

“…Due to the limited service life of each equipment, a given portion of its embodied carbon is depreciated each time it is used to process materials. This depreciation in the embodied carbon should be added to the embodied carbon of the materials processed by the equipment [30].…”

Evaluating the LCA of a Building with Close Embodied Energy Which Has Different Functions

“…Tables 1-3 show the detailed feature of each wall type, which stucco is the inner face of the wall and marble tile, laminated timber and external rendering are the outerlayer of the wall. The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) recommends the use of Phase Change Material (PCM) in buildings [9]. There are different ways to use aerogels for insulation applications.…”

Avaliação do ciclo de vida de blocos de concreto do mercado brasileiro: alvenaria e pavimentação.

“…Apesar de não ser usada diretamente no produto, o levantamento desse consumo é importante por seu registro poss a logística da fábrica, pelo levantamento das áreas que necessitam de maior Como a energia incorporada depende do processo produtivo, da disponibilidade de matéria-prima na região, da eficiência de produção e da quantidade de material utilizado (CABEZA et al, 2013), decidiu-se adotar faixas de valores (mínimo e máximo) para os dados referentes às matérias-primas, ao invés de um dado médio. …”