Embodied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparison of residential building retrofit measures in Atlanta

Shirazi, A; Ashuri, B

Embodied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparison of residential building retrofit measures in Atlanta

Shirazi, A

Ashuri, B

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Publisher:: Elsevier BV
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Building and Environment, 2020, 171, pp. 106644-106644
Issue Date:: 2020-03-15

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Shirazi, A https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6629-2902
dc.contributor.author	Ashuri, B
dc.date.accessioned	2020-10-08T03:27:19Z
dc.date.available	2020-10-08T03:27:19Z
dc.date.issued	2020-03-15
dc.identifier.citation	Building and Environment, 2020, 171, pp. 106644-106644
dc.identifier.issn	0360-1323
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/143137
dc.description.abstract	© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Studies showed that up to 30% of a building's life cycle energy and emissions are associated with the embodied phase and this number could increase to 50% for energy efficient passive houses. The residential housing market alone has a significant impact on US emissions. This research targeted Atlanta as one of the growing metropolitan areas in the US and conducted an embodied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparison of single-family residential retrofit measures considering the original construction year of the buildings. At first, the paper investigated the potential retrofit measurements to improve the operational energy consumption of the different building categories. The paper then calculated the embodied impacts associated with the retrofit measures and compared them against each other to find the most energy and environmentally efficient options in terms of the embodied impacts. The paper finally conducted a trade-off analysis to investigate the payback period of the retrofit options regarding their impact on the operational energy savings throughout the second phase of the building's life span. The main findings of this research showed that the highest environmental impacts are associated with the attic/knee insulation and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit's replacement through retrofitting residential buildings. The findings also demonstrated the significant environmental impacts for foundation wall insulation and window upgrading through retrofitting dwellings built before the 1970s. The trade-off results revealed that the embodied energy payback period is generally around 3–5 years for before 1970s and 1.6–3.2 years for after 1970s buildings.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier BV
dc.relation.ispartof	Building and Environment
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106644
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subject	0502 Environmental Science and Management, 1201 Architecture, 1202 Building
dc.subject.classification	Building & Construction
dc.title	Embodied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparison of residential building retrofit measures in Atlanta
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	171
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management
utslib.for	1201 Architecture
utslib.for	1202 Building
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Built Environment
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2020-10-08T03:27:13Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	171

Abstract:

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Studies showed that up to 30% of a building's life cycle energy and emissions are associated with the embodied phase and this number could increase to 50% for energy efficient passive houses. The residential housing market alone has a significant impact on US emissions. This research targeted Atlanta as one of the growing metropolitan areas in the US and conducted an embodied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparison of single-family residential retrofit measures considering the original construction year of the buildings. At first, the paper investigated the potential retrofit measurements to improve the operational energy consumption of the different building categories. The paper then calculated the embodied impacts associated with the retrofit measures and compared them against each other to find the most energy and environmentally efficient options in terms of the embodied impacts. The paper finally conducted a trade-off analysis to investigate the payback period of the retrofit options regarding their impact on the operational energy savings throughout the second phase of the building's life span. The main findings of this research showed that the highest environmental impacts are associated with the attic/knee insulation and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit's replacement through retrofitting residential buildings. The findings also demonstrated the significant environmental impacts for foundation wall insulation and window upgrading through retrofitting dwellings built before the 1970s. The trade-off results revealed that the embodied energy payback period is generally around 3–5 years for before 1970s and 1.6–3.2 years for after 1970s buildings.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/143137