Reducing building life cycle carbon emissions through prefabrication: Evidence from and gaps in empirical studies

Abstract The use of prefabrication for building has many benefits, including improved construction process efficiency and reduced waste and environmental effects over a building's life cycle. Studies have investigated building life cycle carbon (LCCa), but the extent of reported carbon reductions achieved through prefabrication remains inconsistent, and it is still unclear how different variables influence a prefabricated building's LCCa. This paper aims to systematically examine the evidence for reducing building LCCa through prefabrication, and to identify gaps in existing knowledge for future research. The relevant published empirical studies were examined using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method, based on a systems framework of 12 variables influencing prefabricated building LCCa. In total, 27 cases of prefabricated buildings, carefully identified through an onerous process, were examined. The results show that the embodied and operational carbon emissions of these cases varied significantly from 105 to 864 kg CO2/m2, and from 11 to 76 kg CO2/m2/yr, respectively. The results also indicate that, on average, 15.6% of embodied and 3.2% of operational carbon reductions were achieved through prefabrication, as compared with their traditional base cases. However, five and three cases, respectively, actually had increased embodied and operational carbon as a result of prefabrication compared with their traditional counterparts. These results suggest an inconsistent influence of different variables on prefabricated building LCCa, and provide a clearer and more critical understanding of prefabricated building LCCa. A systems framework is developed to identify seven gaps in existing knowledge and recommend directions for future research.

[1]  Chi Sun Poon,et al.  Life cycle design and prefabrication in buildings: A review and case studies in Hong Kong , 2014 .

[2]  Xianbo Zhao,et al.  The importance of use and end-of-life phases to the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of concrete : a review , 2014 .

[3]  Qiping Shen,et al.  Comparative study of greenhouse gas emissions between off-site prefabrication and conventional construction methods: Two case studies of residential projects , 2013 .

[4]  J. Burnett,et al.  Analysis of embodied energy use in the residential building of Hong Kong , 2001 .

[5]  Ya Hong Dong,et al.  Comparing carbon emissions of precast and cast-in-situ construction methods – A case study of high-rise private building , 2015 .

[6]  Wei Pan,et al.  The dialectics of sustainable building , 2015 .

[7]  Leonard Robert Kawecki,et al.  Environmental Performance of Modular Fabrication: Calculating the Carbon Footprint of Energy Used in the Construction of a Modular Home , 2010 .

[8]  W. Pan.  System boundaries of zero carbon buildings , 2014 .

[9]  J. Tukey,et al.  Performance of Some Resistant Rules for Outlier Labeling , 1986 .

[10]  Jaehun Sim,et al.  The air emission assessment of a South Korean traditional building during its life cycle , 2016 .

[11]  Morrison Hershfield,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Design of Precast Concrete Commercial Buildings in Canada , 2012 .

[12]  R. Ries,et al.  The quantification of the embodied impacts of construction projects on energy, environment, and society based on I-O LCA , 2011 .

[13]  Geoffrey Qiping Shen,et al.  Life-cycle energy analysis of prefabricated building components: an input–output-based hybrid model , 2016 .

[14]  Jo Salmon,et al.  Relationship between the physical environment and physical activity in older adults: a systematic review. , 2011, Health & place.

[15]  Bo Wang,et al.  Research on the life-cycle CO2 emission of China's construction sector , 2016 .

[16]  Guiwen Liu,et al.  Comparing greenhouse gas emissions of precast in-situ and conventional construction methods , 2018 .

[17]  Jose L. Fernandez-Solis,et al.  System boundary for embodied energy in buildings: A conceptual model for definition , 2013 .

[18]  Jeung-Hwan Doh,et al.  Assessment of the embodied carbon in precast concrete wall panels using a hybrid life cycle assessment approach in Malaysia , 2014 .

[19]  Anna Laura Pisello,et al.  Environmental impact of industrial prefabricated buildings: Carbon and Energy Footprint analysis based on an LCA approach. , 2014 .

[20]  Jui-Sheng Chou,et al.  Life cycle carbon dioxide emissions simulation and environmental cost analysis for building construction , 2015 .

[21]  Joaquim Ciurana,et al.  Development of a scale of building construction systems according to CO2 emissions in the use stage of their life cycle , 2014 .

[22]  Wei Pan,et al.  Dialectics of sustainable building: Evidence from empirical studies 1987–2013 , 2014 .

[23]  Oriol Pons,et al.  Environmental impacts of prefabricated school buildings in Catalonia , 2011 .

[24]  Andrew R.J. Dainty,et al.  Strategies for integrating the use of off-site production technologies in house building , 2012 .

[25]  Wei Pan,et al.  Compliance with building energy regulations for new-build dwellings , 2012 .

[26]  Ho Chin Siong,et al.  Assessment of embodied energy and global warming potential of building construction using life cycle analysis approach: Case studies of residential buildings in Iskandar Malaysia , 2015 .

[27]  C S Poon,et al.  Quantifying the waste reduction potential of using prefabrication in building construction in Hong Kong. , 2009, Waste management.

[28]  Han-Seung Lee,et al.  Life cycle CO2 assessment method for concrete using CO2 balance and suggestion to decrease LCCO2 of concrete in South-Korean apartment , 2013 .

[29]  Chris I. Goodier,et al.  Design in Modular Construction , 2014 .

[30]  Chang U Chae,et al.  Evaluation Analysis of the CO 2 Emission and Absorption Life Cycle for Precast Concrete in Korea , 2016 .

[31]  David A Cook,et al.  Technology-enhanced simulation for health professions education: a systematic review and meta-analysis. , 2011, JAMA.

[32]  Robert H. Crawford,et al.  Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and energy analysis of prefabricated reusable building modules , 2012 .

[33]  G. Treloar,et al.  Life-cycle energy analysis of buildings: a case study , 2000 .

[34]  Barbara Rossi,et al.  Life-cycle assessment of residential buildings in three different European locations, basic tool , 2012 .

[35]  Robert Ries,et al.  The embodied air pollutant emissions and water footprints of buildings in China: a quantification using disaggregated input–output life cycle inventory model , 2016 .

[36]  G. Glass.  Primary, Secondary, and Meta-Analysis of Research1 , 1976 .

[37]  Ping Jiang,et al.  Opportunities for low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China , 2009 .

[38]  Jiaping Liu,et al.  Embodied carbon emissions of office building: A case study of China's 78 office buildings , 2016 .

[39]  Maryam Mirhadi Fard,et al.  Differentiating among low-energy, low-carbon and net-zero-energy building strategies for policy formulation , 2012 .

[40]  Hun Hee Cho,et al.  Statistical analysis of embodied carbon emission for building construction , 2015 .

[41]  Kasun Hewage,et al.  Life cycle performance of modular buildings: A critical review , 2016 .

[42]  Ambrose Dodoo,et al.  Lifecycle carbon implications of conventional and low-energy multi-storey timber building systems , 2014 .

[43]  Christopher R. Iddon,et al.  Embodied and operational energy for new-build housing: A case study of construction methods in the UK , 2013 .

[44]  Robert Ries,et al.  Characterizing, Propagating, and Analyzing Uncertainty in Life‐Cycle Assessment: A Survey of Quantitative Approaches , 2007 .

[45]  James B.P. Lim,et al.  Life-Cycle Energy Analysis of a Modular/Off-Site Building School , 2013 .

[46]  Anne-Marie Tillman,et al.  Significance of decision-making for LCA methodology , 2000 .

[47]  Adem Atmaca,et al.  Life cycle energy (LCEA) and carbon dioxide emissions (LCCO2A) assessment of two residential buildings in Gaziantep, Turkey , 2015 .

[48]  Sarel Lavy,et al.  Identification of parameters for embodied energy measurement: A literature review , 2010 .

[49]  Ming Wei Liu,et al.  An upper-bound pushover analysis procedure for estimating the seismic demands of high-rise buildings , 2004 .

[50]  Michiya Suzuki,et al.  Estimation of life cycle energy consumption and CO2 emission of office buildings in Japan , 1998 .

[51]  Rosanna Abbate,et al.  Accruing evidence on benefits of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on health: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. , 2010, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[52]  David Pearlmutter,et al.  A life-cycle energy analysis of building materials in the Negev desert , 2008 .

[53]  Martin Belusko,et al.  Minimising the life cycle energy of buildings: Review and analysis , 2014 .

[54]  Adolf Acquaye,et al.  Operational vs. embodied emissions in buildings—A review of current trends , 2013 .

[55]  J. Tukey,et al.  Variations of Box Plots , 1978 .

[56]  Wei Pan,et al.  Clusters and exemplars of buildings towards zero carbon , 2016 .

[57]  Fenglai Wang,et al.  Life-cycle assessment and control measures for carbon emissions of typical buildings in China , 2015 .

[58]  T. M. Leung,et al.  A review on Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Energy Assessment and Life Cycle Carbon Emissions Assessment on buildings , 2015 .

[59]  John D. Quale,et al.  Construction Matters: Comparing Environmental Impacts of Building Modular and Conventional Homes in the United States , 2012 .

[60]  Yujie Lu,et al.  Development of an automated estimator of life-cycle carbon emissions for residential buildings: A case study in Nanjing, China , 2016 .

[61]  Robert Ries,et al.  Integrated Computational Life-Cycle Assessment of Buildings , 2001 .

[62]  Xiaodong Li,et al.  A comparative study of environmental performance between prefabricated and traditional residential buildings in China , 2015 .

[63]  Chris I. Goodier,et al.  House-Building Business Models and Off-Site Construction Take-Up , 2012 .

[64]  Giovanni Andrea Blengini,et al.  Life cycle of buildings, demolition and recycling potential: A case study in Turin, Italy , 2009 .

[65]  Geoffrey Qiping Shen,et al.  Greenhouse gas emissions during the construction phase of a building: a case study in China , 2015 .

[66]  John S. Monahan,et al.  An embodied carbon and energy analysis of modern methods of construction in housing: A case study us , 2011 .

[67]  D. Moher,et al.  Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA Statement , 2009, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[68]  Luisa Brotas,et al.  Exploration of life cycle data calculation: Lessons from a Passivhaus case study , 2016 .

[69]  Noor Amila Wan Abdullah Zawawi,et al.  A multivariable regression tool for embodied carbon footprint prediction in housing habitat , 2016 .

[70]  Declan Butler,et al.  Architecture: Architects of a low-energy future , 2008, Nature.

[71]  Melissa M. Bilec,et al.  Life-Cycle Assessment Modeling of Construction Processes for Buildings , 2010 .

[72]  Jung-Ho Huh,et al.  Estimation of CO2 emission of apartment buildings due to major construction materials in the Republic of Korea , 2012 .