Real-time carbon emission monitoring in prefabricated construction

Abstract The problem of carbon emissions from the construction industry should be a serious concern, because it contributes a very large share of the overall GHG emissions. However, because of traditional construction modes, most previous research has focused on forecasting ex-post analysis of carbon emissions, and few efforts have concentrated on real-time analysis, the lack of which leads to deficiencies in carbon emission control. The industrial transformation of construction has created opportunities for improvement, and similarly the developments in information technology, notably cyber-physical systems (CPS), have shown the potential to contribute to solving this problem. In several other industries, the application of CPS has made significant progress. To strengthen the monitoring and analysis of carbon emissions in prefabricated construction and thus prevent an excessive impact on the environment, this study proposes a real-time carbon emission monitoring (CEM) system for the whole industrial chain of prefabricated construction. To achieve this aim, previous studies on carbon monitoring in the construction industry are reviewed to investigate the applicability of CPS to CEM systems. The functionality of the system is designed according to the requirements of different end users, and five types of hardware are developed for automated data acquisition in real time. In addition, for better utilization of the monitoring system, three different data presentation platforms are developed for customers (desktop platform, browser, and smartphone app). The system can successfully perform real-time monitoring of carbon emissions，which is useful in preventing additional emissions.