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Life cycle assessment of a wooden single-family house in Sweden
University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, Energy Systems and Building Technology. Department of Energy and Construction Technology, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden. (REESBE)
Department of Energy and Construction Technology, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden.
Department of Energy and Construction Technology, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden.
University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, Environmental Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8413-3975
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2019 (English)In: Applied Energy, ISSN 0306-2619, E-ISSN 1872-9118, Vol. 251, p. 1456-1465, article id 113253Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

To understand the reasons behind the large environmental impact from  buildings the whole life cycle needs to be considered. Therefore, this study  evaluates the carbon dioxide emissions in all stages of a single-family house  in Sweden from the production of building materials, followed by construction  and user stages until the end-of-life of the building in a life cycle  assessment (LCA). The methodology applied is attributional life cycle  assessment (LCA) based on `One Click LCA' tool and a calculated life span of  100 years. Global warming potential (GWP) and primary energy (PE) are  calculated by using specific data from the case study, furthermore the data  regarding building materials are based on Environmental Product Declarations  (EPDs). The results show that the selection of wood-based materials has a  significantly lower impact on the carbon dioxide emissions in comparison with  non-wood based materials. The total emissions for this single-family house in  Sweden are 6 kg CO2e/m2/year. The production stage of building materials,  including building systems and installations represent 30% of the total  carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, while the maintenance and replacement  part represents 37%. However, energy use during the in-use stage of the house  recorded lower environmental impact (21%) due to the Swedish electricity mix  that is mostly based on energy sources with low carbon dioxide emissions. The  water consumption, construction and the end-of-life stages have shown minor  contribution to the buildings total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (12%). The  primary energy indicator shows the largest share in the operational phase of  the house. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2019. Vol. 251, p. 1456-1465, article id 113253
Keywords [en]
Carbon dioxide equivalent emission, Environmental product declaration, Global warming potential, Life cycle assessment, Primary energy, Single-family house
National Category
Other Environmental Engineering
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-29904DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.05.056ISI: 000497966300013Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85065788114OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-29904DiVA, id: diva2:1324880
Available from: 2019-06-14 Created: 2019-06-14 Last updated: 2021-08-19Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis of a single-family house
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis of a single-family house
2021 (English)Licentiate thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The building industry is responsible for 35% of final energy use and 38% of CO2 emissions at a global level. The European Union aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the building industry by up to 90% by the year 2050. Therefore, it is important to consider the environmental impacts buildings have. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the environmental impacts and costs of a single-family house in Sweden. In the study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and the life cycle cost (LCC) methods have been used by following the “cradle to grave” life cycle perspective. 

This study shows a significant reduction of global warming potential (GWP), primary energy (PE) use and costs when the lifespan of the house is shifted from 50 to 100 years. The findings illustrate a total decrease in LCA outcome, of GWP to 27% and PE to 18%. Considering the total LCC outcome, when the discount rate increases from 3% to 5% and then 7%, the total costs decrease significantly (60%, 85% to 95%). The embodied carbon, PE use and costs from the production stage/construction stage are significantly reduced, while the maintenance/replacement stage displays the opposite trend. Operational energy use, water consumption and end-of-life, however, remain largely unchanged. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the importance of using wood-based building materials due to its lower carbon-intensive manufacturing process compared to non-wood choices.  

The results of the LCA and LCC were systematically studied and are presented visually. Low carbon and cost-effective materials and installations have to be identified in the early stage of a building design so that the appropriate investment choices can be made that will reduce a building’s total environmental and economic impact in the long run. Findings from this thesis provide a greater understanding of the environmental and economic impacts that are relevant for decision-makers when building single-family houses.

Abstract [sv]

Byggbranschen svarar för 35% av den slutliga energianvändningen och 38 % av koldioxidutsläppen på global nivå. Europeiska unionen strävar efter att minska koldioxidutsläppen i byggnadsindustrin med upp till 90% fram till 2050. Därför är det viktigt att beakta byggnaders miljöpåverkan. Syftet med denna avhandling var att undersöka miljöpåverkan och kostnader för ett enfamiljshus i Sverige. I studien har livscykelbedömningen (LCA) och livscykelkostnadsmetoderna (LCC) använts genom att tillämpa livscykelperspektivet ”vagga till grav”.

Studien visar en stor minskning av global uppvärmningspotential (GWP), användning av primärenergi (PE) och kostnader vid växling från 50 till 100 års husets livslängd. Resultaten visar en årlig minskning med 27% för utsläpp av växthusgaser och med 18% för användningen av primärenergi. Med tanke på det totala LCC-utfallet, när diskonteringsräntan ökar från 3%, 5% till 7%, minskar de totala kostnaderna avsevärt (60%, 85% till 95%). Det noteras att klimatavtrycket, primärenergianvändningen och kostnaderna från produktionssteget/konstruktionssteget minskar avsevärt, medan underhålls- / utbytessteget visar den motsatta trenden när man byter från 50 till 100 års livslängd. Den operativa energianvändningen, vattenförbrukningen och avfallshanteringen är fortfarande nästan samma när man ändrar livslängden. Vidare betonar resultaten vikten av att använda träbaserade byggmaterial på grund av lägre klimatpåverkan från tillverkningsprocessen jämfört med alternativen.

LCA- och LCC-resultaten studerades systematiskt och redovisades visuellt. De koldioxidsnåla och kostnadseffektiva materialen och installationerna måste identifieras i ett tidigt skede av en byggnadskonstruktion genom att välja lämpliga investeringsval som kommer att minska de totala miljö och ekonomiska effekterna på lång sikt. Resultaten från denna avhandling ger ökad förståelse för miljömässiga och ekonomiska konsekvenser som är relevanta för beslutsfattare vid byggnation av ett enfamiljshus.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Gävle: Gävle University Press, 2021. p. 30
Series
Licentiate thesis ; 12
Keywords
Building, carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions, global warming potential, primary energy use, life cycle assessment, life cycle cost, Byggnad, koldioxidekvivalenta utsläpp, global uppvärmningspotential, pri-märenergianvändning, livscykelbedömning, livscykelkostnad
National Category
Energy Systems
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-36901 (URN)978-91-88145-77-2 (ISBN)
Presentation
2021-09-02, Room 322, Röda vägen 3, Borlänge, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2021-08-19 Created: 2021-08-19 Last updated: 2022-04-25Bibliographically approved

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Petrovic, BojanaWallhagen, MaritaEriksson, Ola

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