The Experts below are selected from a list of 95133 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Enrico Benetto - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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life cycle assessment and data envelopment analysis approach for the selection of Building Components according to their environmental impact efficiency a case study for external walls
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2015Co-Authors: Diego Iribarren, Antonino Marvuglia, Paula Hild, Melanie Guiton, Emil Popovici, Enrico BenettoAbstract:Abstract Environmental criteria have to be taken into account when it comes to selecting a specific Building Component among a set of candidates with the same function. This article presents a methodological approach – based on both Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) – for the selection of Building Components according to their environmental impact efficiency. A three-step LCA + DEA approach is proposed and tested through a case study for 175 external walls. The three steps of this approach involve data collection, life cycle impact assessment, and DEA of the sample of Building Components using environmental impacts as DEA inputs. Overall, from the availability of multiple data on the material and energy flows of each Building Component, the method provides decision makers with eco-efficiency scores and environmental benchmarks. A cautious definition of the set of candidates is critical, as relative efficiency scores are calculated. Data availability and functional homogeneity regarding the Building Components evaluated are the key requirements for the general use of the method. The three-step LCA + DEA approach proposed is proven to be a useful method to enhance decision making and environmental benchmarking in the Building sector.
M. Fischer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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application of life cycle assessment to early stage Building design for reduced embodied environmental impacts
Building and Environment, 2013Co-Authors: J. Basbagill, Michael Lepech, Forest Flager, M. FischerAbstract:Abstract Decisions made during a Building's early design stages critically determine its environmental impact. However, designers are faced with many decisions during these stages and typically lack intuition on which decisions are most significant to a Building's impact. As a result, designers often defer decisions to later stages of the design process. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to enable better early stage decision-making by providing feedback on the environmental impacts of Building information modeling (BIM) design choices. This paper presents a method for applying LCA to early stage decision-making in order to inform designers of the relative environmental impact importance of Building Component material and dimensioning choices. Sensitivity analysis is used to generalize the method across a range of Building shapes and design parameters. An impact allocation scheme is developed that shows the distribution of embodied impacts among Building elements, and an impact reduction scheme shows which material and thickness decisions achieve the greatest embodied impact reductions. A multi-Building residential development is used as a case study for introducing the proposed method to industry practice. Results show that the method can assist in the Building design process by highlighting those early stage decisions that frequently achieve the most significant reductions in embodied carbon footprint.
P Morris - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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embodied carbon as a proxy for the environmental impact of earthquake damage repair
Energy and Buildings, 2018Co-Authors: Kathrina Simonen, Monica Huang, Christopher Aicher, P MorrisAbstract:Abstract In evaluating the life cycle environmental impacts of Buildings, the contributions of seismic damage are rarely considered. In order to enable a more comprehensive assessment of a Building's environmental impact by accounting for seismic events, this project developed an environmental impact database of Building Component seismic damage – the largest of its kind known to date – by combining data from Carnegie Mellon University's Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) database with cost estimates of repair previously developed for FEMA's Performance Assessment Calculation Tool (PACT), a software that models probabilistic seismic damage in Buildings. Fifteen indicators of environmental impacts were calculated for the repair of approximately 800 Building Components for up to five levels of seismic damage, capturing ‘embodied’ impacts related to cradle-to-gate manufacturing of Building materials, products, and equipment. Analysis of the data revealed that non-structural and architectural finishes often dominated the environmental impacts of seismic damage per dollar spent in repair. A statistical analysis was performed on the data using Principal Component Analysis, confirming that embodied carbon, a popular metric for evaluating environmental impacts in Building LCAs, is a suitable proxy for other relevant environmental impact metrics when assessing the impact of repairing earthquake damage of Buildings.
Paul D Osullivan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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improved prediction of deep retrofit strategies for low income housing in ireland using a more accurate thermal bridging heat loss coefficient
Energy and Buildings, 2017Co-Authors: James Pittam, Paul D OsullivanAbstract:Abstract In order to improve the energy efficiency of Buildings, thermal insulation plays a pivotal role, however increasing external wall thermal insulation without also addressing construction details can lead to increased thermal bridging and mould growth. Detailed knowledge of a Buildings thermal envelope is paramount to correctly analysing existing problems that promote cold bridging and low surface temperatures. No detailed database exists for housing in Ireland which describes the geometrical configuration of the existing stock. This paper presents findings from an investigation into the prediction of heating energy consumption performance for external envelope retrofit measures when adopting default standardised coefficients for thermal bridging as opposed to simulated values based on accurate geometrical information. Using a remote extraction methodology to obtain geometrical information on house typologies, this paper presents a study that produced a detailed Building Component database premised on stock aggregation theory using Cork City’s local authority housing as a case study. Three construction types; block on flat, cavity and composite cavity are identified with representative construction details for housing typologies modelled in Psi-Therm 2d enterprise. Linear thermal transmittance and minimum surface temperatures are evaluated and an energy efficient external retrofit for each construction detail is proposed. Thermal characteristics for each house archetype are developed using information extracted from 1551 asset rating surveys. Three case study terraced house typologies are then modelled using Ireland’s national asset rating software to demonstrate the importance of obtaining more accurate information regarding the Building stock. The results highlighted up to 21.5% variation in energy performance when replacing a default thermal bridging coefficient for calculated values.
Arlindo Silva - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Buildings and the circular economy: Estimating urban mining, recovery and reuse potential of Building Components
Resources Conservation and Recycling, 2020Co-Authors: Mohit Arora, Felix Raspall, Lynette Cheah, Arlindo SilvaAbstract:Abstract Continuous accumulation of materials in cities have led to the prospects of urban mining for secondary resources. Several commodities and/or products have been assessed in recent years for urban mining and reuse potential viz. automobiles, electronic waste etc. Urban mining for Buildings, the largest material sinks globally, however require considerations which differ from the product-centric urban mining approaches. This study proposes a methodological framework for estimating city-wide urban mining, recovery and reuse potential of Building materials and Components. First, it extends the material stock and flow assessment to urban mining potentials so that recoverable and reusable flows can be highlighted. Secondly, it expands potential applications of recoverable flows to provide an impactful representation to stakeholders such as policy makers, consumers, designers and practitioners. The proposed framework has been applied to the public residential Buildings of Singapore, a city state in Southeast Asia, for assessing Building Components such as windows, doors, tiles, light fixtures, toilet and kitchen fittings. As a case study, construction of low-cost houses in neighbouring Indonesia was explored to receive Building Component flows. Results highlight that the reuse of Building Components could have supported construction in the range of 830–1910 houses in 2016 with more than 30,000 households getting benefit over the six years assessed in this study. Overall, outflows from the Singapore city can partly support the construction of 2200–6030 houses annually to resource-constrained housing sector in the surrounding developing region. Realization of such a circular economy practice will contribute towards sustainable development goals and climate change mitigation efforts.
