Life Cycle Assessment of Residential Buildings: A Case Study in Canada
Residential buildings consume significant amounts of
energy and produce large amount of emissions and waste. However,
there is a substantial potential for energy savings in this sector which
needs to be evaluated over the life cycle of residential buildings. Life
Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to study
the primary energy uses and associated environmental impacts of
different phases (i.e., product, construction, use, end of life, and
beyond building life) for residential buildings. Four different
alternatives of residential buildings in Vancouver (BC, Canada) with
a 50-year lifespan have been evaluated, including High Rise
Apartment (HRA), Low Rise Apartment (LRA), Single family
Attached House (SAH), and Single family Detached House (SDH).
Life cycle performance of the buildings is evaluated for embodied
energy, embodied environmental impacts, operational energy,
operational environmental impacts, total life-cycle energy, and total
life cycle environmental impacts. Estimation of operational energy
and LCA are performed using DesignBuilder software and Athena
Impact estimator software respectively.
The study results revealed that over the life span of the buildings,
the relationship between the energy use and the environmental
impacts are identical. LRA is found to be the best alternative in terms
of embodied energy use and embodied environmental impacts; while,
HRA showed the best life-cycle performance in terms of minimum
energy use and environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis has also
been carried out to study the influence of building service lifespan
over 50, 75, and 100 years on the relative significance of embodied
energy and total life cycle energy. The life-cycle energy requirements
for SDH are found to be a significant component among the four
types of residential buildings. The overall disclose that the primary
operations of these buildings accounts for 90% of the total life cycle
energy which far outweighs minor differences in embodied effects
between the buildings.
[1] R. M. Cuéllar-Franca and A. Azapagic, “Environmental impacts of the
UK residential sector: Life cycle assessment of houses,” Build. Environ.
vol. 54, pp. 86–99, 2012.
[2] K. Van Ooteghem and L. Xu, “The life-cycle assessment of a singlestorey
retail building in Canada,” Build. Environ. vol. 49, pp. 212–226,
Mar. 2012.
[3] A. Ganjidoost and S. Alkass, “Environmental Life Cycle Analysis of
Office Buildings in Canada,” Int. J. Eng. Technol., vol. 4, no. 5, pp.
602–606, 2012.
[4] M. Asif, T. Muneer, and R. Kelley, “Life cycle assessment: A case study
of a dwelling home in Scotland,” Build. Environ. vol. 42, no. 3, pp.
1391–1394, Mar. 2007.
[5] K. Adalberth, “Energy use during the life cycle of buildings: a method,”
Build. Environ. vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 317–320, Jul. 1997.
[6] K. Adalberth, “Energy use during the life cycle of single-unit dwellings:
Examples,” Build. Environ. vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 321–329, Jul. 1997.
[7] J. Basbagill, F. Flager, M. Lepech, and M. Fischer, “Application of lifecycle
assessment to early stage building design for reduced embodied
environmental impacts,” Build. Environ. vol. 60, pp. 81–92, Feb. 2013.
[8] J. Norman, J. Norman, H. L. MacLean, H. L. MacLean, C. a. Kennedy,
and C. a. Kennedy, “Comparing High and Low Residential Density:
Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” J.
Urban Plan. Dev., vol. 132, no. 1, p. 10, 2006.
[9] W. Zhang, S. Tan, Y. Lei, and S. Wang, “Life cycle assessment of a
single-family residential building in Canada: A case study,” Build.
Simul., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 429–438, 2014.
[10] B. Reza, R. Sadiq, and K. Hewage, “Emergy-based life cycle assessment
(Em-LCA) of multi-unit and single-family residential buildings in
Canada,” Int. J. Sustain. Built Environ. vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 207–224, Oct.
2014.
[11] I. O. for S. ISO 14040, “Environmental management: life cycle
assessment. Principles and framework,” 2006.
[12] I. O. for S. ISO 14041, “ISO 14041 Environmental management — Life
cycle assessment — Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis,”
1998.
[13] I. O. for S. ISO 14042, “ISO 14042 Environmental management - Life
cycle assessment - Life cycle impact assessment,” 2000.
[14] I. O. for S. ISO 14043, “ISO 14043 Environmental management — Life
cycle assessment — Life cycle interpretation,” 2000.
[15] A. I. E. AIE, “Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings and the Athena
EcoCalculator for Assemblies,” http://www.athenasmi.org/, 2015. .
[16] H. Baumann and A.-M. Tillman, The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to LCA.
2004.
[17] O. S. Asfour and E. S. Alshawaf, “Effect of housing density on energy
efficiency of buildings located in hot climates,” Energy Build., vol. 91,
pp. 131–138, Mar. 2015.
[18] I. O. for S. ISO 14044, “ISC 14044: Environmental Management — Life
Cycle Assessment— Requirements and Guidelines,” 2006.
[19] S. L. Hsu, “Life Cycle Assessment of Materials and Construction in
Commercial Structures : Variability and Limitations,” Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. 2010.
[20] X. Li, F. Yang, Y. Zhu, and Y. Gao, “An assessment framework for
analyzing the embodied carbon impacts of residential buildings in
China,” Energy Build., vol. 85, pp. 400–409, Dec. 2014.
[21] T. J. Wen, H. C. Siong, and Z. Z. Noor, “Assessment of Embodied
Energy and Global Warming Potential of Building Construction using
Life Cycle Analysis Approach: Case Studies of Residential Buildings in
Iskandar Malaysia,” Energy Build., vol. 93, pp. 295–302, Dec. 2014.
[1] R. M. Cuéllar-Franca and A. Azapagic, “Environmental impacts of the
UK residential sector: Life cycle assessment of houses,” Build. Environ.
vol. 54, pp. 86–99, 2012.
[2] K. Van Ooteghem and L. Xu, “The life-cycle assessment of a singlestorey
retail building in Canada,” Build. Environ. vol. 49, pp. 212–226,
Mar. 2012.
[3] A. Ganjidoost and S. Alkass, “Environmental Life Cycle Analysis of
Office Buildings in Canada,” Int. J. Eng. Technol., vol. 4, no. 5, pp.
602–606, 2012.
[4] M. Asif, T. Muneer, and R. Kelley, “Life cycle assessment: A case study
of a dwelling home in Scotland,” Build. Environ. vol. 42, no. 3, pp.
1391–1394, Mar. 2007.
[5] K. Adalberth, “Energy use during the life cycle of buildings: a method,”
Build. Environ. vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 317–320, Jul. 1997.
[6] K. Adalberth, “Energy use during the life cycle of single-unit dwellings:
Examples,” Build. Environ. vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 321–329, Jul. 1997.
[7] J. Basbagill, F. Flager, M. Lepech, and M. Fischer, “Application of lifecycle
assessment to early stage building design for reduced embodied
environmental impacts,” Build. Environ. vol. 60, pp. 81–92, Feb. 2013.
[8] J. Norman, J. Norman, H. L. MacLean, H. L. MacLean, C. a. Kennedy,
and C. a. Kennedy, “Comparing High and Low Residential Density:
Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” J.
Urban Plan. Dev., vol. 132, no. 1, p. 10, 2006.
[9] W. Zhang, S. Tan, Y. Lei, and S. Wang, “Life cycle assessment of a
single-family residential building in Canada: A case study,” Build.
Simul., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 429–438, 2014.
[10] B. Reza, R. Sadiq, and K. Hewage, “Emergy-based life cycle assessment
(Em-LCA) of multi-unit and single-family residential buildings in
Canada,” Int. J. Sustain. Built Environ. vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 207–224, Oct.
2014.
[11] I. O. for S. ISO 14040, “Environmental management: life cycle
assessment. Principles and framework,” 2006.
[12] I. O. for S. ISO 14041, “ISO 14041 Environmental management — Life
cycle assessment — Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis,”
1998.
[13] I. O. for S. ISO 14042, “ISO 14042 Environmental management - Life
cycle assessment - Life cycle impact assessment,” 2000.
[14] I. O. for S. ISO 14043, “ISO 14043 Environmental management — Life
cycle assessment — Life cycle interpretation,” 2000.
[15] A. I. E. AIE, “Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings and the Athena
EcoCalculator for Assemblies,” http://www.athenasmi.org/, 2015. .
[16] H. Baumann and A.-M. Tillman, The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to LCA.
2004.
[17] O. S. Asfour and E. S. Alshawaf, “Effect of housing density on energy
efficiency of buildings located in hot climates,” Energy Build., vol. 91,
pp. 131–138, Mar. 2015.
[18] I. O. for S. ISO 14044, “ISC 14044: Environmental Management — Life
Cycle Assessment— Requirements and Guidelines,” 2006.
[19] S. L. Hsu, “Life Cycle Assessment of Materials and Construction in
Commercial Structures : Variability and Limitations,” Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. 2010.
[20] X. Li, F. Yang, Y. Zhu, and Y. Gao, “An assessment framework for
analyzing the embodied carbon impacts of residential buildings in
China,” Energy Build., vol. 85, pp. 400–409, Dec. 2014.
[21] T. J. Wen, H. C. Siong, and Z. Z. Noor, “Assessment of Embodied
Energy and Global Warming Potential of Building Construction using
Life Cycle Analysis Approach: Case Studies of Residential Buildings in
Iskandar Malaysia,” Energy Build., vol. 93, pp. 295–302, Dec. 2014.
@article{"International Journal of Architectural, Civil and Construction Sciences:70472", author = "Venkatesh Kumar and Kasun Hewage and Rehan Sadiq", title = "Life Cycle Assessment of Residential Buildings: A Case Study in Canada", abstract = "Residential buildings consume significant amounts of
energy and produce large amount of emissions and waste. However,
there is a substantial potential for energy savings in this sector which
needs to be evaluated over the life cycle of residential buildings. Life
Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to study
the primary energy uses and associated environmental impacts of
different phases (i.e., product, construction, use, end of life, and
beyond building life) for residential buildings. Four different
alternatives of residential buildings in Vancouver (BC, Canada) with
a 50-year lifespan have been evaluated, including High Rise
Apartment (HRA), Low Rise Apartment (LRA), Single family
Attached House (SAH), and Single family Detached House (SDH).
Life cycle performance of the buildings is evaluated for embodied
energy, embodied environmental impacts, operational energy,
operational environmental impacts, total life-cycle energy, and total
life cycle environmental impacts. Estimation of operational energy
and LCA are performed using DesignBuilder software and Athena
Impact estimator software respectively.
The study results revealed that over the life span of the buildings,
the relationship between the energy use and the environmental
impacts are identical. LRA is found to be the best alternative in terms
of embodied energy use and embodied environmental impacts; while,
HRA showed the best life-cycle performance in terms of minimum
energy use and environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis has also
been carried out to study the influence of building service lifespan
over 50, 75, and 100 years on the relative significance of embodied
energy and total life cycle energy. The life-cycle energy requirements
for SDH are found to be a significant component among the four
types of residential buildings. The overall disclose that the primary
operations of these buildings accounts for 90% of the total life cycle
energy which far outweighs minor differences in embodied effects
between the buildings.", keywords = "Building simulation, environmental impacts, life
cycle assessment, life cycle energy analysis, residential buildings.", volume = "9", number = "8", pages = "1009-9", }