Environmental Evaluation of Timber Buildings using Life ... · October 11October 11--15, 2010 15,...
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Environmental Evaluation of Timber Buildings using Life Cycle Assessment Methodology Caroline Caroline Frenette Frenette Cecobois Cecobois, Canada , Canada Robert Beauregard Robert Beauregard Université Laval, Canada Université Laval, Canada Cécile Bulle Cécile Bulle École polytechnique de Mtl, Canada École polytechnique de Mtl, Canada Sylvie Alain Sylvie Alain Université Laval, Canada Université Laval, Canada SWST/UNECE SWST/UNECE Annual Convention Annual Convention October 11 October 11-15, 2010 15, 2010
Transcript of Environmental Evaluation of Timber Buildings using Life ... · October 11October 11--15, 2010 15,...
Environmental Evaluation of Timber Buildings using Life Cycle Assessment Methodology
Caroline Caroline FrenetteFrenette
CecoboisCecobois, Canada, Canada
Robert BeauregardRobert Beauregard
Université Laval, CanadaUniversité Laval, Canada
Cécile BulleCécile Bulle
École polytechnique de Mtl, CanadaÉcole polytechnique de Mtl, Canada
Sylvie AlainSylvie Alain
Université Laval, CanadaUniversité Laval, Canada
SWST/UNECESWST/UNECEAnnual ConventionAnnual ConventionOctober 11October 11--15, 201015, 2010
Outline
� Context
� Building environmental evaluation tools
� Life Cycle assessment (LCA)
Phase 1 - Goal and scope definition
Phase 2 - Life cycle inventory
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Phase 2 - Life cycle inventory
Phase 3 - Life cycle impact assessment
Phase 4 - Interpretation
� LCA of timber buildings
� Conclusion
Context
• The building sector is an important environmental contributor to green house gas emissions
• Design decisions have a significant influence on the total lifetime environmental footprint of a building
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a relatively new
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• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a relatively new scientific methodology allowing the quantification of environmental impacts of a product over its life cycle
• Environmental evaluation of entire buildings using LCA methodology could help in the design process
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Source: IPCC 2007, Jolliet et al. 2005
20
25
30
35
40
45
GW
Pf [
kg C
O2
eq/m
2 ,yea
r]
Building life phases
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-5
0
5
10
15
Pre-use &maintenance
Use (heat) Use (other) End of life Life Cycle
GW
Pf [
kg C
O
LEH SH
Source: Blengini & Di Carlo 2010
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Building environmental evaluation tools
Level 1 - direct impact of specific products(ex: BEES, ELODIE, etc.)
Level 2 - direct impact of buildings or building assemblies
(ex: ATHENA, EQUER, etc.)
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(ex: ATHENA, EQUER, etc.)
Level 3 - whole building assessment frameworks including social, economical and environmental criteria (ex: BREEAM, LEED, etc.)
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Source: Trusty 2000
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Life cycle assessment
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…is a scientific methodology to quantify the potential environmental impacts associated to the life cycle of a product
LCA is documented in the ISO standards 14040 - 14044 Source: www.ciraig.org, ISO 2006
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
11Goal Goal and scope and scope definitiondefinition
Why ?
What is compared ?
What is included ?
22Life cycle Life cycle
inventoryinventory
Which substance ?
How much ?
www.ulaval.ca 744InterpretationInterpretationOf what ?
How much ?
22inventoryinventoryHow much ?
33Life cycle Life cycle
impact impact assessmentassessment
How ?
Where ?
Case study
Light-frame wood wall assemblies
Functional unit : • 200 m² exterior wall
• Residential building in Quebec City
• Life span 60 years
• Electrical heating
11Goal and Goal and
Scope Scope DefinitionDefinition
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System boundaries :• Construction and maintenance of wall
• Heating energy lost through the wall
• Resource extraction, manufacturing, transport,
construction, maintenance, demolition and disposal
Source: Frenette et al. 2010
Case study
polyethylene sheet+ gypsum board
glass fibre batt(140 mm)
38x140 @ 400mm
vinyl siding1building paper+ OSB
WRM + SheathingVapor barrier + Interior finishing
InsulationFramingExternal cladding
Analyse de l’inventaire22Life cycle Life cycle inventoryinventory
www.ulaval.ca aluminium-coated fibreboard + gypsum board
blown cellulose(140 mm)
38x140 @ 600mm
wood composite siding
5spun-bonded Polyolefin+ extruded polystyrene+ OSB
Kraft paper+ gypsum-fibre board
blown cellulose(140 mm)
38x140 @ 400mm
wood siding4building paper + asphalt-coated wood fibreboard
polyethylene sheet+ gypsum board
glass fibre batt(140 mm)
38x140 @ 400mm
brick veneer3spun-bonded Polyolefin+ extruded polystyrene
polyethylene sheet+ gypsum board
extruded polystyrene(140 mm)
38x140 @ 400mm
brick veneer2spun-bonded Polyolefin+ Plywood
+ gypsum board(140 mm)@ 400mm+ OSB
Case study
Emissions dans l'air2-Chloroacetophenone g 8,75E-04 8,88E-04 9,28E-04 1,79E-04 1,80E-04Acenaphthene g 9,87E-05 1,38E-04 1,41E-04 2,20E-05 2,31E-05Acenaphthylene g 4,84E-05 6,76E-05 6,90E-05 1,08E-05 1,13E-05Arsenic g 3,80E-01 4,45E-01 3,08E-01 2,96E-01 3,61E-01etc…
Emissions dans l'eau2-Hexanone mg 8,05E+01 1,30E+02 1,27E+02 3,55E+01 3,61E+01Acetone mg 1,23E+02 2,00E+02 1,94E+02 5,43E+01 5,53E+01Ammonia mg 1,81E+05 2,87E+05 2,65E+05 8,56E+04 8,84E+04Antimony mg 3,33E+02 4,97E+02 3,86E+02 1,85E+02 1,97E+02
Wall 1 Wall 2 Wall 3 Wall 4 Wall 5Emissions to air
Emissions to water
22Life cycle Life cycle inventoryinventory
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Antimony mg 3,33E+02 4,97E+02 3,86E+02 1,85E+02 1,97E+02etc…
Déchets solidesBark/Wood Waste Kg 1,33E+03 1,23E+03 1,13E+03 1,33E+03 1,44E+03Concrete Solid Waste Kg 1,60E+02 9,04E+01 9,04E+01 6,08E+01 8,40E+01Blast Furnace Slag Kg 9,76E+00 1,99E+01 2,33E+01 8,33E+00 1,08E+01etc…
Utilisation d'énergieHydro MJ 1,59E+06 1,32E+06 1,36E+06 1,37E+06 1,12E+06Coal MJ 1,13E+04 1,63E+04 1,60E+04 2,88E+03 3,08E+03Diesel MJ 4,64E+04 9,42E+04 9,36E+04 4,20E+04 4,01E+04Natural Gas MJ 1,06E+05 1,83E+05 2,04E+05 3,58E+04 3,41E+04Nuclear MJ 8,07E+04 7,51E+04 7,71E+04 6,59E+04 5,43E+04etc…
Utilisation des ressourcesLimestone Kg 6,87E+02 9,93E+02 1,54E+03 2,63E+02 2,67E+02Clay & Shale Kg 1,90E+02 3,09E+02 3,09E+02 1,90E+02 1,90E+02Iron Ore Kg 4,62E+01 1,23E+02 1,39E+02 3,94E+01 5,11E+01etc…
Solid waste
Primary energy
Resources
Case study
100%
Impact 2002+
33Life cycle Life cycle impact impact
assessmentassessment
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0%
25%
50%
75%
Human Health Ecosystem Quality Climate Change Resources
Wall 1 Wall 2 Wall 3 Wall 4 Wall 5
Ecoindicator 99
Case study
50%
75%
100%
Climate change indicator (impact 2002+)
44InterpretationInterpretation
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0%
25%
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Qc gas oil USA
Climate Change
embodied electricity Qc natural gas heating oil electricity USA
Qc: electricity from Quebec
gas: natural gaz
oil: heating oil
USA: electricity from USA
Importance of « life-cycle thinking »
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Zero émission? Emissions
«elsewhere »!
Avoids transfering
environmental problems
• From a life-cycle phase to another
• From a geographical place to
another
• From an ecosystem to another
Source: Cécile Bulle, CIRAIG
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
...of a building
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Source: www.cecobois.com
General LCA tools (ex: Sima Pro®)
• Can use several LCI databases and LCIA methods
• Transparent to facilitate sensitivity analyses
• Require the definition of every construction process for all life cycle phases of the building
LCA tools
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Specialised building LCA tools (Ex: Athena IE®)
• LCI database adapted to construction sector
• User-friendly: All processes and life cycle phases are automatically included
• Aggregate results according to pre-defined indicators
Phase 1 - Goal and scope definition
Definition of functional unit
• Secondary functions different for each building
(durability, acoustic performance, thermal comfort, aesthetics, etc.)
11Goal and Goal and
Scope Scope DefinitionDefinition
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• Unknown life span
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Source: Frenette et al. 2010, Kellenberger and Althaus 2009
Phase 1 - Goal and scope definition
Definition of system boundaries
General LCA tools
Several complex processes which needadapted simplifications
� material transportation
� energy used during construction
11Goal and Goal and
Scope Scope DefinitionDefinition
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� energy used during construction
� etc.
Choice of electricity grid-mix
Specialised building LCA tools
System boundaries are often implicitly defined
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Source: Frenette et al. 2010, Kellenberger and Althaus 2009, Ortiz et al. 2009
Phase 2 - Life cycle inventory
� Databases: QualityAvailability and applicability ReliabilityDisaggregation ability
General LCA toolsIncomplete data on building products and processes
22Life cycle Life cycle inventoryinventory
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processes
Specialised building LCA toolsBuilt-in database – assumptions not readily accessible
� End-of-life : applicability of today’s database ?
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Source: Ortiz et al. 2009, Frenette et al. 2010
Phase 3 - Life cycle impact assessment33Life cycle Life cycle impact impact
assessmentassessment
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Source: Jolliet et al. 2003
Phase 3 - Life cycle impact assessment
� Some categories are still under development
� such as characterisation of biogenic CO2
General LCA tools can offer a choice of LCIA models
Specialised building LCA tools
33Life cycle Life cycle impact impact
assessmentassessment
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Specialised building LCA tools use a pre-defined LCIA model
� The definition of a single eco-indicator, which could be directly used by designers ???
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Source: Frenette et al. 2010
Phase 4 - Interpretation
� Depends greatly on the LCA tool
General LCA tools can allow exhaustive sensitivity analyses
Specialised building LCA tools
44InterpretationInterpretation
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Specialised building LCA tools "black box" analysis reduces the possibilityof retracing significant emissions and processes
� LCA results vs secondary functions
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Source: Frenette et al. 2010
Conclusions
� LCA of buildings could assist in sustainable design.
� Reliable LCA of timber buildings implies :
� Clear definition of the functional unit and system boundaries for each study;
� Development of reliable, disaggregated, and regionally adapted LCI databases;
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regionally adapted LCI databases;
� Availability of transparent information on the construction, maintenance, and demolition processes;
� A consensus regarding the characterisation of biogenic carbon.
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Conclusions
� Many research projects are underway to facilitate the application of LCA to building evaluation.
� LCA adapted to buildings evaluation can
� provide reliable information to support building professionals during the design phase;
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� help the development of improved building products;
� improve whole building assessment and certification frameworks.
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• Blengini GA and T DiCarlo (2010) The changing role of life cycle phases, subsystems and materials in the LCA of low energy buildings. Energy and Buildings, 42 (6): 869-880.
• Bribian IZ, Uson AA and S Scarpellini (2009) Life cycle assessment in buildings: State-of-the-art and simplified LCA methodology as a complement for building certification. Building and Environment 44 (2009) 2510–2520.
• Frenette CD, Bulle C, Beauregard R, Salenikovich A and D Derome (2010) Using life cycle assessment to derive an environmental index for light-frame wood wall assemblies, Building and Environment, 45 (2010)2111-2122.
• Haapio A and P Viitaniemi (2006) Building Environmental Assessment Tools. In: 9th World Conference on Timber Engineering, Portland, Oregon.
• IPCC 2007 Fourth assessment report: Working group III report Mitigation of climate change, http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg3.htm
• Humbert S, Abeck H, Bali N and A Horvath (2007) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) - A critical evaluation by LCA and recommendations for improvement. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment; 12 (special issue 1): 46-57.
• ISO 14040 to 14044 (2006) Environmental management - Life cycle assessment, International organization for standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2006 ed.
List of References
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Geneva, Switzerland, 2006 ed.
• Jolliet O, Saadé M and P Crettaz (2005) Analyse du cycle de vie: Comprendre et réaliser un écobilan, Lausanne, Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, Lausanne, Suisse, 2005.
• Kellenberger D and HJ Althaus (2009) Relevance of simplifications in LCA of building components, Building and Environment 44 (2009) 818–825.
• Malmqvist T, Glaumann M, Scarpellini S, Zabalza I, Aranda A, Llera E and S Díaz (2010) Life cycle assessment in buildings: The ENSLIC simplified method and guidelines, Energy, article in press.
• Matasci C (2006) Life Cycle Assessment of 21 buildings: analysis of the different life phases and highlighting of the main causes of their impact on the environment. Thèse de Master, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
• Ortiz O, Castells F and G Sonnemann (2009) Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA. Construction and Building Materials 23 (2009) 28–39.
• Trusty WB (2000) Introducing assessment tools classification system. Advanced Building Newsletter #25. Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
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