Propriety assessment model for life cycle operational global warming potential of apartment buildings in Korea using energy efficiency and energy effective area data

Abstract

In response to global warming, researchers worldwide are actively investigating various techniques and institutional frameworks to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Despite numerous life cycle assessment (LCA) studies indicating that global warming effects due to lifetime energy consumption are the greatest in the building operation stage, the absence of a standard global warming potential (GWP) report based on building energy usage makes it difficult to examine realistic GWP reduction directions. In South Korea, energy data for numerous buildings were collected through the Building Energy Efficiency Certification (BEEC) for several years, with data from apartment buildings receiving the most attention. GWP emissions were evaluated using the data through Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design LCA. Here, we developed a model for apartment buildings to assess mutual propriety for GWP emissions (E) and energy effective area ratio (RE) during building operation to support the reduction of GWP emissions caused by lifetime operational energy consumption resulting from planning and design. We collected apartment BEEC data and used them to calculate the energy effective area ratio and GWP emissions of each building, which were then classified by energy use and source. Linear regression analysis was performed between RE and E for each classification, and the derived regression equation was developed as a GWP assessment model for apartments. The applicability of the proposed model was examined through a case study, which confirmed that the model can be used to determine design directions for reducing GWP emissions for every energy in apartments.

Sustainable Point of View: Life Cycle Analysis for Green Extraction Technologies

“…Several examples could be given from microalgal operations as plant cell cultures [13], biofuel production [14,15], and algal biomass and its composition [16]. Besides microalgae operations, which inherently promote green technologies, LCA is also applicable to other topics such as the energy efficiency of apartment buildings [17] or loess stabilization [18]. Due to its goal of being used in every area, the evolution of LCA has occurred in a way that allows it to be utilized on a much wider spectrum.…”

Prediction and Optimization Analysis of the Performance of an Office Building in an Extremely Hot and Cold Region

“…At the level of carbon emissions from buildings, excessive carbon emissions can lead to a sharp increase in greenhouse gases and waste of energy resources, which in turn can lead to building environmental problems such as the heat island effect. The issue of how to effectively reduce carbon emissions is critical to improving building performance [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. For example, the following scholars have conducted relevant studies: Zhang et al investigated the impact of three objectives, GWP, global cost (GC), and operational energy (OE), on the ability to optimize building performance.…”