Minimization of CO2 Emissions and Primal Energy by Building Materials’ Environmental Evaluation and Optimization

Building industry has leading position in deterioration of environment. Therefore environmental assessment of building materials is very important. Life Cycle Assessment is the most complex method for quantifying of environmental impact and performing optimization. A single-family residential house was selected for evaluation and optimization of building materials, as presented in this paper. Building materials were divided into 10 groups of structures on the basis of calculation tool of Createrra. Contribution of building and particular structures in terms of used materials was enumerated. The highest contribution to global warming (GWP = 17770.5 kg CO2eq), acidification (AP = 57.2 kg SO2eq) and the highest consumption of primal energy (PEI = 153 350.4 MJ) was calculated for materials used in foundations. Some structures were selected for further material optimization to minimize their negative impact. It was proven that the proper selection of materials can lead to minimizing of the negative impact on environment by reducing energy consumption and CO2 and SO2 emissions.